Rain Dance
by SpiritAnimal
Summary: Another Reborn character, another OC. When Philomena Johns transferred to Namimori High, she never thought things would turn out the way they did. Feeling out of place in a foreign land, she ended up making some of the best friends a girl could ask for. And after she went away for school, she got an unexpected offer, not realizing it would lead back to familiarity. **ch 4 fixed!**
1. Chapter 1

Her name was Philomena Alivia Johns and she was a transfer student at Namimori High School. Her father's job had them all move to Japan from her home in England. Learning to write in Japanese had been the hardest, but she thought she was getting the hang of it. Making friends however…that was something completely different. She was different obviously. Her hair was on the lighter side of brown, her eyes were green, she was taller than most of the girls. It was fine with her though. She immersed herself in books, and studied extra hard to make good grades while she was here. Not that she wasn't smart, just the opposite, but it was harder to read and write everything out.

She sighed softly, staring at her textbook. It was lunch and she was eating her sandwich while she deciphered her homework. She took a moment to glance around as she sipped her juice. Groups were scattered here and there talking and eating. Looked like fun. She shrugged a bit, then her eyes fell on the one group that had spoken to her once, well two of them had anyway. Sawada-kun and Sasagawa-kun had introduced themselves on her first day. They were really nice, but the rest of their group looked intimidating. Granted, it was just two more guys, but still. One was super tall, even to her. He looked friendly enough, but all the girls swooned over him. That in itself was scary. The other one looked half Japanese. He had silver hair and Aquamarine eyes, and the meanest glare for anyone outside the small group. Also he had a following of girls.

Philomena was shaken from her thoughts when her phone made a noise. She picked it up and looked. There was a text from her childhood friend. He had moved to Italy a few years back, but they still talked nearly every day.

"Got time for a video chat?" The text asked. She replied with a yes since lunch had just started. When her phone made another noise, she answered the call. At least this way she could talk to someone and wouldn't have to try to fumble out bad Japanese.

"Philly" Her friend said with a very slight smile. "Make any friends yet?"

"Haha Spanner I am soooooo glad you called." She said giving him a smile. "Yeah no…not yet. No one talks to me. Well, two people did when I first started…"

"You have to talk to people to have them talk to you ya know. Besides, you're my friend! Your Japanese is better than you think" He frowned slightly. "Did you find Shoichi yet? I told you….he's a good friend of mine. Did you ever meet him? You came to a competition or two…."

"I've met him…I need to make friends on my own! I can't ride your coattails forever you know." She said laughing a bit.

"Nothing wrong with that. It's nice to have a friendly face in a new place." He glanced to the side, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Also…" He blinked a few times.

"Excuse me….Johns-san?" Philomena looked over her shoulder and blinked a few times.

"Sawada-kun….please, call me Philly. I'm…not used to being called by my last name." She smiled a bit

"Ah…Philly…call me Tsuna then." He glanced at her phone and broke out into a bright smile. "I thought so!"

"Eh?"

"I thought I heard Spanner's voice. I didn't know you knew him!"

"You…know each other?" She asked, looking at Spanner.

"Long story." He said simply, then gave Tsuna a half wave. "Vongola. How ya doin?"

"Great!" He said with a smile. "We're going to steal your friend though. Kyoko-chan asked me to come get her."

"I…I couldn't intrude" Philomena said, shaking her head.

"Philly…" She looked back to the phone screen. "Go. Make some friends. Trust me, if he friends you, it's not because of me. He makes friends with everyone." She bit her lip gently, and looked from Spanner to Tsuna, who smiled at her, then back. "Go. Call me when you get home." With that Spanner ended the call. She sighed, and put her phone away. She grabbed her book and her lunch, then looked at Tsuna.

"After you then." She stood, looking at Tsuna, then at the group warily.

"Don't worry! It'll be ok." Tsuna said, walking her over. "No matter how they look, or act, they're really nice people." She nodded, still unsure as Tsuna motioned to a nearby desk for her to sit at.

"Johns-kun!" Sasagawa squealed, giving her a smile. "You looked so lonely over there! Hopefully we can all be friends."

"Ah….just Philly please. And I wasn't lonely. I was talking to my best friend in Italy." She gave the other girl a smile. "Well, he was my neighbor…we grew up together. Then he moved to Italy." She bit her lip, and pulled her sandwich back out. She was rambling.

"It was Spanner!" Tsuna exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I wish I would have known that sooner!"

"I…ah…wanted to make friends on my own…" Philomena said quietly, staring at her lunch.

"Oh well, we did approach you before we knew that" Tsuna said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You seemed nice."

"Ahahaha we can make up our own minds." The tall one said with a blinding smile.

"Tch, speak for yourself. I'm not looking for new friends." The silver haired one spat out. Philomena shrank back and opened her book. She might as well go back to her studying.

"Ahhh Gokudera, don't be so mean. Don't you remember when you were a transfer student?" She jumped as an arm was slung around her neck. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Nice to meet you…ah…..ahaha…what was your name again?"

"Philomena Johns. But please just call me Philly. All my friends do." She blushed faintly as she turned back to her book.

"You always have your nose in a book." Yamamoto said, taking it out of her hands, and closing it. "Do that later and hang out with us."

"Ah… Japanese is hard to read. It takes me longer to get my work done." She said quietly. "Thank you Yamamoto-kun, but I should try to get a head start on my homework." He blinked a few times, and handed her book back.

"Oh sorry" He went back to his seat, and gave her a smile. "Gokudera can help. He's really smart. He helps me and Tsuna all the time."

"Tch. I'm going to start charging you guys." Gokudera said, crossing his arms. "And not like I can help. I'm not fluent in English…."

"It's ok. I've been getting good grades regardless." She said quietly, finding her place in the textbook. "In another week or so, it should be a lot easier for me."

"Stupid woman." She glanced to the side to see Gokudera glare at her book over her shoulder. "What are you having a problem with?"

"Oh well, it's just reading the kanji and such. I don't get this one…" She pointed and he leaned in closer.

"That's an easy one…see here…" As he explained, everyone else watched the two with raised brows.

"Ah…." Tsuna sighed.

"Ahaha I guess she's making friends after all" Yamamoto laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Kinda jealous. She's pretty cute." Tsuna and Kyoko just looked over at Yamamoto, then at each other, sharing a weird look.

Philomena sighed softly as she gathered her things to head home. Lunch was weird, but she got passed it. At least she was making friends. And Gokudera helped her a lot with her studying. He was super smart. Made her wonder why he was still in highschool. She yelped as she ran into someone, bouncing back. She was sure she was going to fall, then arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"Ahahaha Philly, you should be more aware of your surroundings" She looked up and saw Yamamoto's warm brown eyes look down at her.

"I am so sorry!" She said, feeling herself blush. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I have a lot on my mind."

"It's ok!" He said with a laugh, still holding on to her. "Actually, I'm glad I literally ran into you. Do…you want to come watch my baseball practice? I…I'll walk you home after."

"I have a lot of homework to do…" She said quietly and blinked a few times. "You're still holding onto me…"

"Well, it's a beautiful day…" He let her go, giving her a smile. "Sit in the bleachers and do some of your work." She could do that. With all this she rarely got outside anymore. She bit her lip gently and looked up at him then nodded.

"Yeah ok. That'd be a nice change." She gave him a slight smile. His face broke out into the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"Ahaha! Great!" He picked her up and spun her around. She wasn't sure what to make of any of this. Weren't Japanese people supposed to be more reserved? This was the exact opposite. She blinked a few times as he set her back down. "Come on. This way." He started walking and she followed still a bit bewildered. Well, at least she could tell Spanner she was, in fact, making friends. She supposed she should get in contact with Shoichi sooner or later, before Spanner does. That's all she'd need. Don't get her wrong, she loved the fact he treated her like a sister, but sometimes it bordered on silly. He was worrying too much. She shook her head and sighed. She'd have to tell him not to worry so much. They were supposed to talk later, that'd be a great time. She came out of her thoughts and realized that Yamamoto was talking this entire time. She felt bad tuning him out like that, and blushed faintly, looking at her feet.

"...and then it was like tink, whoosh, pfssssss and I won the game!" He laughed a bit as she just blinked up at him. "Do they have a lot of baseball in England?"

"No. A lot of football and rugby." She replied in a quiet voice. "I'm afraid I don't know the rules."

"I can teach you if you want." He offered, flashing her a toothy grin. "I taught Tsuna and Gokudera."

"You guys seem really close. Must have been friends for a really long time."

"Not really. Sometime in middle school. That's when Gokudera transferred. He's from Italy you know. And me and Tsuna…well… we knew each other but not friends until that same time. It's a long story and I don't come out so well so…"

"Did you bully him?" She asked, wide eyed. His eyes got as round as saucers and he shook his head quickly.

"No! No…no…nothing like that. He…kinda saved my life." He gave a sly grin. "Maybe I'll tell you the story sooner or later if you come watch me practice often." She blinked a few times, blushing faintly.

"Ah…well…"

"No worries!" He turned to her and held out his hand. "We're here. Let me help you up the bleachers. It can be kinda tough."She placed her hand in his, feeling a blush creep up in her cheeks. He held her steady as she stepped up, taking a seat.

"Thank you Yamamoto-kun" She said, giving him a small smile.

"Just make sure you watch some of it." He said, letting her hand go. She watched him turn and head off.

A few hours went by and Philomena had just finished up the last of her homework. She was putting her things away when she blinked a few times and paused, seeing an empty field. Did everyone already leave? She finished putting everything in her bag and stood up. Sticking her tongue out, she carefully maneuvered down the bleachers, and on the last one, she hopped down onto the ground.

"I suppose I should go home." She said softly to herself, and turned in that direction. She paused for a moment hearing her name.

"Philly! Wait up!" She looked over her shoulder to see Yamamoto jogging up. "I told you I would walk you home."

"I…thought everyone left…" She said quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Nah. Just showered and changed back. Come on." He gave her a smile as she began walking with him. "I was thinking, for letting me drag you to practice on the day we met…." He stopped and turned towards her. "Do you like sushi?"

"Well…yeah. Can't get far with having Spanner for a friend if you don't like that sort of stuff." She laughed a bit, playing with her bag. Wow, she felt awkward right now.

"How about I treat you then?"He asked with a smile. "That's if you don't have to be home yet?"

"I'm already running late, I probably should head home. Can I take a raincheck?" She felt a blush creep onto her face. It was weird, she was sure it was because he appreciated the company, but it felt like he wanted to take her out on a date.

"Yeah sure." He thought for a moment, then smiled. "The day after tomorrow is a holiday from school. How about then?"

"Yeah ok." She gave him a smile as they walked. It was a comfortable silence for most of the walk. A few times Yamamoto would tell her a story about something outrageous. Well, his stories were full of sound effects, but she found it endearing. It felt too soon when she stopped in front of the gate to her house.

"You….live like three doors down from Tsuna you know," Yamamoto said as he looked around, blinking a few times.

"Do I?" Philomena asked, looking around. "I didn't realize…"

"Just means we can walk together more often" He said with a smile, then looked away, his hand on the back of his neck. "I…I'm really glad I met you today Philly." She blinked a few times and stared at him for a moment, before breaking out into a smile.

"I'm glad I met you too Yamamoto-kun" She gave him one more smile, and turned to head inside. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him standing there, waving as she closed the gate. This had been an interesting day.


	2. Chapter 2

Philomena snuggled down into her blankets and pillows, laptop on her lap, and put in a video call to Spanner. She still hadn't wrapped her brain around what had happened today, it was all so much. Also, she came to realize that she watched none of the baseball practice, and solely worked on her homework. She felt a pang of guilt about that.

"Hey Philly, how'd lunch work out?" Spanner answered the call, stick from a lollipop sticking out of his mouth and a smudge of grease on his cheek.

"I think it worked out pretty well. Making some friends now." She said with a smile.

"Good! I told you didn't I?" When she nodded, he continued. "You're later than normal calling. Something hold you up?"

"I…ah…watched baseball practice…?"

"Eh…? Why? You don't like sports. And baseball? You don't know anything about that…it's not very popular in England after all…."

"I…ah…was asked to go." She shrugged it off, adverting her gaze. "Besides, it gave me a chance to do my schoolwork outside."

"Beginning. Then tell me what happened, and who I have to threaten."

"What? Don't be silly."

"Well…?" He asked expectantly. She sighed softly and told him everything that happened.

"Ah….he likes you."

"What? No. He just met me."

"And Yamamoto doesn't just drag someone he's met to practice. He's a jock, his sport is sacred. Did Vongola and the others go?"

"Well….no…"

"There you have it. A date."

"I would hardly say it was a date…" She mumbled, snuggling further into her pillows.

"Either way, I got into contact with Shoichi. I gave him your email and told him you were in the same town." Philomena sighed softly.

"Really Spanner, you didn't have to do that…" She began.

"Yeah I did. You might need him around sooner or later."

"You're being over protective again…"

"Not nearly enough Philly." He sighed, giving her a tired look. "I…gotta finish this robot. Just… don't get too attached." He ended the call and she blinked a few times, sighing. She closed her laptop, and placed it on the floor. Laying in bed, she wondered exactly what he meant by that.

The next day at school, Philomena noticed that the guys were gone. She wondered if all three got sick at the same time or something, and went about her day. She was slightly disappointed when lunch rolled around but, she was fine. Pulling out her lunch, she decided to get a jump start on her homework. Someone sat at the desk in front of her and she looked up. Sasagawa had sat down and gave her a large smile.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She pulled out her bento setting it down on Philomena's desk. "Once in a while the guys miss a day or two of school. But don't worry, they'll be back soon."

"Why?" She asked, that question bothering her since the beginning of the day.

"Not sure. They can be secretive, but it's usually for the best. My brother and Hibari-san are probably gone too."

"Wait, do they all hang out together? Hibari-san doesn't strike me as the sort…" Sasagawa nodded.

"Sometimes. And I know. He's really scary."

"Brooding maybe, but not scary." She said thoughtfully, as she chewed her sandwich.

"Maybe, but maybe you haven't seen him bite anyone to death."

"Eh?"

"You'll see sooner or later" Sasagawa replied, eating her lunch. She paused for a moment, and looked at Philomena. "Hey, you know, if you want me to call you Philly, you should call me Kyoko" Philomena smiled and nodded.

"Yeah sure Kyoko." She sighed and put her chin on her hand. "Hey, so…can I talk to you about something? Talking to Spanner seems to be useless about it. He insists on some silly notion."

"Yeah of course" She gave her friend a bright smile.

"Well... It also bothers me about their absence…." She quickly gave Kyoko a run down on the events that transpired yesterday after school. When she was done, she shrugged. "And my so called best friend insists that he likes me. Silly right? I mean, we just met" Kyoko looked at her for a moment, obviously taking it all in and sorting it out.

"That is weird. I mean Yamamoto-kun is very friendly, but it's just that. And you've been here for a bit, do you see how he treats his fan club? At arms length, but nothing short of friendly. I have to agree with Spanner on this one. So, why is the absence bothering you?"

"Oh…well…. we kind of have…plans for tomorrow…" Kyoko's eyes widened.

"You have a date?!" She nearly choked on her drink, looking at her wide eyed. "I don't think I remember him ever asking a girl out."

"It's….not a date. It's appreciation sushi…for coming to practice."

"But you went yesterday."

"I didn't have any time. I had to get home."She replied lamely.

"I don't know…" Kyoko shrugged slightly. "It may be nothing. He'll probably take you to Takesushi. It's the best in Namimori. So what if his family owns it."

"They own a restaurant?"At that, Kyoko nodded. Yeah it couldn't possibly be a date if it was his family's place. She pondered that for the rest of lunch.

The rest of the day flew by. Philomena was leaving the school, when she heard Kyoko behind her. She paused, allowing her friend to catch up and smiled a bit.

"Kyoko, what's up?"

"Well, I was thinking… We're going the same way, let's walk together." She giggled a bit and held up her phone. "My brother texted me and told me to meet him at Tsuna's house. You live near there right?"

"Yeah…apparently a few doors down from him. Had no idea we were neighbors until Yamamoto-kun said something yesterday."

"He walked you home? That was sweet" Philly blushed faintly at the statement and shrugged.

"I guess. I was glad for the company really."

"Walk with Tsuna and Gokudera." Kyoko offered. "I'm sure they'd be more than happy to keep you company." Philly shrugged slightly and bit her lip.

"I don't know. Gokudera is kind of scary…" She said quietly. Kyoko snickered, behind her hand.

"He's really not. I mean, he's loud and stuff but he's not really scary."

"Well…." She glanced around and blinked a few times, realizing they were near her home. "Oh… well, my house is right that way…" She gestured to a home nearby.

"Tsuna's is right there. You should come by if you're bored." She offered with a smile, and turned in that direction, waving. "I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" Philomena called out watching Kyoko head off. Suddenly, there was an explosion somewhere and yelling.

"Gokudera! Stop trying to blow up Lambo!"

"But Tenth! That stupid cow was needlessly…."

"Ahaha! You should see your face!"

Philomena shook her head and started towards her house, laughing to herself. She heard yelling as she went to open the gate, and felt something hug her waist.

"Pretty lady! Will you help me?" She blinked a few times a child hiding behind her. Why was he wearing cow print? She knelt down to be eye level with him, and blinked a few times. He wasn't Japanese.

"Hi there." She said with a smile. "My name's Philly. What's wrong?" He sniffled a few times, and stuck his finger in his mouth.

"Stupidera was trying to blow me up…." He sniffled again. She frowned a bit and sighed.

"I'm sure no one was trying to blow you up. That would be dangerous." She dug around her bag and held out a piece of candy. "No tears now. What's your name sweetie?"

"L….Lambo…." She patted his head after he took the candy.

"Nice to meet you Lambo." She stood up, dusting off her skirt. "Here, I'll walk you home ok? And make sure no one tries to blow you up ok?"

"You're really nice Nee-san." He gave her a smile, and pointed to Tsuna's house. She blinked a few times and sighed. Of course. Why didn't she figure it out sooner. She heard all the yelling after all. She held out her hand for him, and gave him a bright smile.

"Let's go then." She walked over, and had just gotten to the gate when Tsuna appeared with Yamamoto.

"Philly?!" Tsuna said, eyes wide in surprise. "What are you…?" She gave them a smile, and coaxed Lambo from behind her.

"Missing something?" She asked, patting the child's head.

Lambo!" Tsuna said with a smile. "We were just going to look for you!"

"Nee-san helped me, and even gave me candy!" He said, letting her hand go and running inside the house.

"Thanks a ton!" Tsuna said, giving her a bright smile. "But ah…"

"She lives right over there Tsuna" Yamamoto supplied with a smile. He had a bandage on his cheek, and a bright smile on his face.

"Really?" When Philomena nodded, he smiled a bit more. "Want to come in and hang out? We know…we weren't at school today. Had something else to do."

"Oh…right…" She said quietly and bit her lip. "Well, I really wanted to change out of this uniform…"

"Come by when you have" Yamamoto said with a smile. "Everyone is here, you can meet them!"

"Eh…everyone…?

"Us, Gokudera, Kyoko, Haru, Nii-san, ahh…there's a lot of people here, maybe it'd be easier if you just came by." Tsuna laughed, hand behind his head. She couldn't help but smile and nodded.

"Let me drop off my bag and change. I'll be over in like…twenty minutes?"

"Sound great!" Tsuna said, waving as he headed back in.

"If you're late I'm coming over and carrying you here!" Yamamoto added as he followed Tsuna back inside. She blushed a bit as he turns and headed home. What kind of friends had she made? She made a note to drill Spanner and Kyoko for information next time she had the opportunity.

Philomena took a deep breath. She had changed into a skirt, t-shirt and sandals, something quick and easy. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and thought she actually looked kind of cute for once. She raised her hand and knocked on the front door. She could hear a lot of shuffling behind it, then finally, a pretty lady answered the door in an apron and three children peeking out behind her. Lambo ran out and hugged her waist.

"Nee-san!" He said smiling up at her. "You're back!" Philomena blushed faintly and gave Lambo a smile patting his head.

"Tsuna asked me to come by." She looked at the lady and bowed a bit. "Excuse the intrusion. I'm Philly, a friend of Tsuna's from school."

"Oh!" The lady exclaimed with a bit of a laugh. "Tsu-kun, and everyone else has been talking about you quite a bit! Please come in!" She stepped to the side so Philomena could step in. She slipped her sandals off. "They're upstairs in Tsu-kun's room. Lambo, why don't you show your Nee-san where it is? But come right back. I need your help with dinner."

"Thank you Sawada-san" Philomena said, giving the lady a smile, and followed Lambo up the steps. He stopped in front of a door, where a lot of noise was coming from.

"This one! Knock loud though, they're noisy!" With that he ran off. Philomena blinked a few times, and raised her hand. She knocked, not hard though. She didn't want to be rude. The door opened, and she was pulled in, hearing it close behind her. She blinked a few times and found herself sitting around a table, with Tsuna, Gokudera, Kyoko, Yamamoto, and several people she didn't know. Off to the side, on a computer doing something or another was a slightly familiar red head in glasses. He had headphones on, so she didn't say anything. Kyoko was on one side of her, and Yamamoto on the other. She blushed faintly, as she was introduced.

"Everyone I want you to meet….eh…hold on…" Tsuna reached over and slid the headphones off of the computer kid's ears. "Hey…I'm introducing someone. Listen for a minute." The kid blinked a few times and his eyes widened.

"Ahhh…I did it again. Sorry Tsunayoshi." He closed his laptop and turned to listen. Tsuna cleared his throat and began once more.

"Everyone, this is Philly. She's a transfer student from England, and new in our class." Tsuna said, giving everyone a smile. Philomena blushed faintly and gave a small wave. The red head blinked a few times then his eyes widened.

"Oh nuts! I was supposed to email you Philomena! I am so sorry!" He sighed, shaking his head. "Spanner is going to kill me." She shook her head and waved it off.

"Don't worry Shoichi. It's fine. I keep insisting I want to make friends on my own." She sighed softly. "He just won't listen."

"It's fine! Philly came to practice yesterday!" Yamamoto said happily. She blushed as he threw an arm around her neck. "We got plans for tomorrow too!" She just wanted to crawl into a hole…maybe under a rock.

"Ah…a date?" Tsuna and Shoichi asked in unison.

"Tch. You just met her. And she's so…Keeps to herself an awful lot."

"I am right here you know…"

"I said the same thing earlier!" Kyoko said brightly. "It's cute!"

"We…aren't going out…per se…. just as friends…"Philomena mumbled, blushing even more.

"Ahahaha I didn't ask her out or anything. Just as friends. Just sushi at my dad's place." Yamamoto said with a smile, giving her shoulders a squeeze, then letting her go finally.

"I thought Yamamoto was gay honestly…." a brunette girl said from the other side of Kyoko.

"Haru!" Kyoko and Tsuna said, eyes wide with a complete look of shock.

"Well, we never see him talk to a girl or anything. Has he ever shown interest….?"

"What does that say about Gokudera then?" Tsuna asked, glancing over at his silver haired friend.

"Same?" Haru offered. Gokudera scowled, face bright red, and suddenly had what looked awfully close to dynamite in his hands.

"Ah…" Philomena said nervously. She found herself hiding behind Yamamoto's shoulder.

"It's Haru man. She didn't mean anything by it. Put the fireworks away. You're going to scare Philly. She's not used to your jokes yet." Yamamoto said quietly, moving a hand near her protectively. She peeked out and saw everyone stare at them with wide eyes. Gokudera scoffed and put the items away.

"Fine. But this isn't over…" He mumbled, settling back. Philly moved back to her seat and looked down at her hands, feeling slightly nervous.

"Oh! Since you know everyone else…" Kyoko began, looking at Philly with a smile. You should meet the other two. She motioned to the brunette girl. "The one with the big mouth is Haru." The girl gave Philomena a bright smile and a wave.

"Nice to meet you! Kyoko has told me a lot about you!"

"And this one…" She motioned to a guy that looked older than them, sports tape around his hands, and white hair. "This is my brother Ryohei"

"Extremely nice to meet you Philly!" He yelled, to which she bowed her head in greeting to the two.

"Nice to meet you both" She said quietly.

"You already know Shoichi" Tsuna said with a smile "so that's pretty much everyone."

Philomena felt slightly out of place. She watched as everyone talked and joked around, giggling at the funnier antics. These people were pretty fun to be around.

A/N: Actually forgot the A/N at the end of chapter one. Sorry guys! (I don't know, it may have been sweet, sweet relief not hearing from me Ahaha) Anyways, I really like this story, and I hope you do too! Please let me know what you think! I'm posting two chapters today as a test and hope people like it. I have 5 more chapters I currently need to post. I am currently stuck on how to get from point A to point B in my current chapter, so comments and reviews will help me through my bit of writer's block! It makes me happy. :)


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Philomena checked herself in the mirror. She knew this wasn't a date, but she wanted to look cute. She would have done the same thing if it was anyone else. She wore a blue sundress and sandals. Her hair was up in a braid, and she had a cross body purse that matched. She smiled to herself and headed downstairs.

"Mom, Dad I'm heading out!" She called out. "I don't know when I'll be back but it shouldn't be too late! I have my phone!"

"Have fun sweetie!" Her mother called back from the kitchen. She smiled and walked out the door. Heading to the gate, she heard commotion coming from Tsuna's house. She simply shook her head as she opened it up. The agreement they came to yesterday was that Yamamoto would meet her in front of her house. She looked up and down the street, and didn't see him around. So, she pulled out her phone and leaned against the wall to wait. She pulled up her texts, and sent one to Spanner.

"Hey how things going?" She sent, then instantly sent another one. "He's late. Waiting ugh."

"Things are going. Trying to figure out what's wrong with programming for my new guy. Shoichi is supposed to be helping out. I think he's still sleeping."

"It's past lunch! He can't possibly be still sleeping. Maybe he has his headphones on again"

"Eh maybe, maybe he was out late"

"Nah he left Tsuna's when I did. Might have been up late working on whatever he was doing at Tsuna's yesterday?"

"Maybe. I'll figure it out though. Still not there?"

"No. I thought I was running a little late too."

"He'll be there. He's not the type to blow off something if he can help it. Don't know about a date though."

"It's not a date!"

"Whatever you say. I gotta go and figure this out. Let me know how it turns out ok?"

"Yep. I'll text you later! Good luck!"

Philomena looked around and sighed softly. Just great. She should have figured she'd been blown off. It's not like it was important, but still… She told herself that she'd wait 5 more minutes, then she'd go shopping or to a cafe or something. She defiantly didn't want o go back into the house and explain why she was back so soon. She bit her lip and considered going over to Tsuna's to see if he was over there for some reason. She immediately dismissed it, feeling it made her seem needy. Checking the time on her phone, three of the five minutes passed. She frowned glancing up and down the street again.

"He's not coming…" She said to herself, and bit her lip as she let out a breath. Discouraged, she still stood her ground waiting for the next two seconds seemed to drag by. She checked her watch and saw time was up. Turning she headed down the street in the direction of the shopping district.

Suddenly, there were footsteps behind her, they sounded like they were running. Philomena glanced over her shoulder and saw Yamamoto running after her at full speed. She stopped, blinking a few times.

"Yamamoto-kun?" She asked in a quiet voice. He caught up, barely panting. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I got held up. I am so sorry." He glanced around and blinked a few times. "Did…you wait out here the entire time?" His brow furrowed, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah…I just now gave up." She blushed as she looked at her feet. "Maybe we should exchange numbers just in case something like this happens again…?" He broke out into a smile.

"Good idea!" The smile fell a second later. "I'm going to make this up to you." He crouched down in front of her. "Piggy back all the way to the restaurant." Philomena blushed a bright red.

"I can't do that! I'm wearing a skirt!" She said nervously.

"Aww come on. No one will see anything if that's what's bothering you. People do it all the time." He raised a brow looking at her over his shoulder. "I can carry you bridal style if you want?"

"Why can't I walk?" She asked, looking away her cheeks burning.

"Because this'll be more fun!" Yamamoto replied, grinning even wider. "Come on." He sighed softly. "You're so tense all the time. Loosen up and have fun, at least for today." She sighed, finding it hard to argue with him, and hopped on his back, arms around his neck, and legs around his middle. "Hold on!"

"Why do I…IIiiiieeeee!" He took off running, arms around her knees to keep her in place. After a minute, she relaxed, realizing he wasn't going to drop her and started laughing. He was right, this was more fun. He started laughing soon after. They must have looked like a sight, two teenagers laughing manically. He stopped after a while and crouched down. She hopped off, still giggling a bit.

"See? I told you. Fun right?" He said, panting a bit. She nodded as her giggles died down.

"Yeah I bet you say that to all the girls" She teased, smoothing her skirt.

"Nah. Sure I have that fan club that follows me around, but nah."

"Well, why not?" She asked, genuinely curious. He simply shrugged as he led her in.

"Dunno, guess none of them interest me. They just follow me around because I'm good at baseball." He frowned a bit as he led her to a seat. "They don't know anything else about me."

"Well, what about Kyoko and Haru?"

"They're cool." He shrugged as he sat beside her at the sushi bar.

"So, last question I promise. Why friend me? Why…" She waved around. "All this? I mean, do you realize what people are saying?"

"You seem really cool. Tsuna and Sasagawa seem to like you." He looked away as sushi appeared before them. "You're nice to me and didn't know anything at all about me." Philomena blinked a few times and thought about it as she ate a piece of sushi. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my…"

"Yeah good right?" He laughed. "Best in town."

"Takeshi, is this the Philly you've talked so much about?" She looked over and bowed her head.  
"You must be Yamamoto-san. Thank you for the sushi. It's amazing." She said politely.

"You're right. She is cute!" He said laughing. "Nice to meet you Philly! Eat as much as you want!" She blushed, head shooting up and turning to look at the younger Yamamoto. He frowned a bit, a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"C'mon Pop. Not now…. We're just friends…." He mumbled, stuffing some sushi in his mouth.

"Well, it's not everyday you bring a girl in you know. I was starting to wonder…."

"Pop!"

"Well, you always bring Gokudera and Sawada in here after all…." He set a plate of sashimi in front of the two.

"Um…I'm still here…" Philomena said quietly, eating a rather tasty looking piece.

"That doesn't mean anything. The people that I bring around think I'm more than baseball…" He sighed softly. "You know that. I…"

"Sorry Takeshi." His father sighed and set some tea in front of them, and gave the two a smile. "It's slow. I got some work in the back. Can you handle this?"

"Yeah thanks." Yamamoto replied, finally smiling again. It was unnerving if he looked sad…like he did a minute ago. Philly frowned slightly watching the two, popping another piece of sushi in her mouth. This stuff was addictive. She paused in her chewing when Yamamoto turned his attention back to her. "Ah…sorry about that. I know it's weird, but I do have a couple of issues."

"Don't we all." She said, shrugging, swallowing the food. "So…ah…"

"What is it?" He asked, eating finally.

"I think any other sushi place is ruined for me now…." She sighed softly, hanging her head. "When I leave Japan I won't be able to eat it ever again…"

"Don't say that!" He said, smiling a bit. "There's other good places I'm sure."

"I don't know…. I may have to kidnap your father and take him with me." She joked, eating another piece.

"Aw don't kidnap him." He said, taking a piece of sashimi. "Kidnap me instead. I'd be more willing." He gave her a grin. She blinked a few times, then laughed.

"That's so cheesy Yamamoto-kun." She said, still snickering. He let his smile fall as they sat there, and watched her for a minute, then looked away, examining his tea cup.

"You….can call me Takeshi if you want. I mean, I call you by your first name right?" She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah ok." She said, nodding.

They had sat and talked while eating for a few hours, Yamamoto's father popping up once in a while to check in on them. The younger Yamamoto's sushi was almost as good as his father's. When they were finally done, it was still a bit early, so they decided to walk around, talking about this or that, really just getting to know each other. When the sun started to set, they headed towards Philomena's home. They stopped outside, exchanging emails and phone numbers. After a few minutes he cleared his throat.

"Ah… hey, Philly?"

"Hm?" She looked up from her phone, where she was finishing up putting in his information.

"I had a lot of fun today." He gave her a large smile. "Thank you."

"You treated me, I should be thanking you." She replied with a smile. "I had fun too. Thank you Takeshi." She thought about something for a minute then smiled a bit more. "No offense or anything. Just…something we do back home to show gratitude." She warned, before balancing on her toes and kissing his cheek. "I'll ah…see you later. Be careful going home." She turned and headed inside, leaving a shocked and blushing Yamamoto standing on the sidewalk.

A few weeks went by, Philomena had become good friends with Tsuna's group, especially Kyoko, Haru and Yamamoto. She talked to the girls often and hung out after school almost every day. Usually, she'd meet up with them, doing her homework in the bleachers while half watching Yamamoto practice. It was lunch time and she was sitting with the group, all of them gathered around Tsuna's desk. Philomena glanced out of the window, yawning as everyone talked. She had plans to walk home with Yamamoto after school, rather than hang out with Kyoko and Haru since it was raining and he didn't have practice. She frowned a bit as she watched the rain come down for a minute, but was brought out of her thoughts, hearing Yamamoto next to her.

"Something wrong? You look upset." She shook her head in reply.

"I think I forgot my umbrella" She said, looking over at him.

"Don't like the rain?" He asked, frowning ever so slightly.

"Love the rain. Makes me sleepy though. Just worried if it's a cold rain. I don't want to get sick." She said quietly, stifling another yawn. She saw him smile even brighter.

"I used to play in the rain all the time. We should do that, it'd be fun."

"I guess you're right." She said with a laugh. "You are such a big kid"

"Better than being a boring adult!" He said, giving her one more smile.

"Tch plan your weird ass dates somewhere else baseball idiot." Gokudera said, glaring at the two. Philomena bit her lip, and quieted down, going back to watching the rain.

After school, Philomena was walking down the street with Yamamoto as rain came down in sheets. She giggled while he told her a story about something to do with Tsuna. She shook her head, droplets of water going everywhere.

"So…wait…you taught him how to swim?" She asked incredulously.

"Kinda…Gokudera and Haru helped too." He shrugged giving her a smile.

"How did he learn anything? Kinda hard to decipher your language." She said with a giggle.

"What do you mean? I speak Japanese….don't I?" His eyes went wide for a minute. "I'm not talking some weird alien language am I?"

"Actually, kind of. I mean… those sound effects…."She laughed a bit harder.

"Awww that's not nice…" She glanced over and saw him pout. Her smile fell, and she gave him a sad look.

"I'm sorry Takeshi….but…the truth hurts sometimes." She tried not to smile as he hung his head in defeat, then lifted it up, giving her an impish smile.

"How about I give you some truth that doesn't hurt?" He asked, and turned, taking her hands. She blinked a few times as he spun her around, pulling her closer so an arm slipped around her waist. She felt nervousness creep up in her, as he danced with her in the rain to the music in his head.

"Ah….Takeshi…?" She asked as he twirled them around. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"I can be honest with you right?"

"Of course." She said, feeling a bit more nervous. He looked down, his warm brown eyes staring right into her green ones.

"I…I've been thinking this over for a while." He began, still leading them in that silent dance as the rain came down. She blinked a few times, but stayed quiet, letting him work out the words. "I…I love you Philly." He smiled as they danced. "You are such a special person. You're beautiful, smart, funny…and I want you to be my girlfriend."

"But…Takeshi…what if I have to move away again?" She replied. She wasn't going to give him a negative answer….she really liked him too.

"We'll figure that out when we get to it." He said, his smile widening. She danced with him and couldn't think of anything else that would deter her. She smiled up at him.

"I feel the same way Takeshi and I would love to call myself your girlfriend." She said, her smile widening as he gave her a wide eyed look.

"Really?" When she nodded, he stopped dancing with her, and wrapped his other arm around her waist, twirling her around, and once he set her back on her feet, he swooped in, giving her a soft, gentle kiss. She giggled into the kiss as she returned it. After a moment, they parted and she couldn't help but smile, seeing the giant smile on his face.

"We should get out of the rain before we both catch a cold." She said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Oh yeah that'd suck. I wouldn't be able to see you.." He said, crouching down. "Come on. This is quicker to get you home and dry."

"I can walk. It's not far now"

"But…"

"You just want to carry me…"

"Yeah kinda…?" He gave her a pout over his shoulder. "Something wrong with that?" She laughed and shook her head as she grabbed his schoolbag as well, and hopped onto his back.

"No. And quit being so pitiful." He stood up, looking over his shoulder at her as he started to walk.

"Not being pitiful. Just quit being difficult now." He flashed her a smile, and she giggled a bit.

"Guess I can work on that." She replied, resting her head on his back. After a few minutes, he stopped and bounced her slightly.

"We're here, unless you want front door service?" She lifted her head and gave him a smile.

"Nah I think I got it" She said, hopping down, and handing him his bag. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep! I'll text you later!" He said as she turned to head into her home. She felt his hand wrap around her wrist. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that impish grin once again. "You aren't going anywhere until I get a goodbye kiss!" Yamamoto pulled her close and leaned in giving her a quick, gentle kiss. "Now go in and take a nice warm bath." He said, smiling brightly. "I'll talk to you later." She smiled, nodded and headed inside.

A/N: I am really enjoying writing Yamamoto. He is just so freaking cute! Along with the beginning I had the confession scene in my head for a while, playing it out until I got to it here. And I am really happy with it. I know, I know, dancing in the rain and all that cliché. That may be, I still find it adorable. :) Let me know what you guys think in the reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Philomena had woken up the next morning feeling like she got hit by a train. Her sinuses hurt, her head felt like it was ready to explode, her throat was raw and burning, and top it all off she had a temperature of 39.4 C. She was sick, and as much as she wanted to get up and go to school, her mother wouldn't allow it. So she resigned herself to a day in bed. She coughed as she reached for her phone. Her mom already called the school to let them know. She half sat up seeing that she had a message.

"Takeshi: Hey! I'm sorry! You did get sick! I'll bring your work over after school and a present. Kinda feel like it's my fault."

She smiled a bit as she typed up a reply.

"I agreed to it all. I'm to blame. You don't have to bring me anything though work would be appreciated. I don't want to fall behind!"

As she sent it, she laid back down, yawning a bit. Looked like he sent it during lunch. She was busy sleeping at the time, just noticing she had a text. Yawning, she propped herself on pillows, lifting up her computer. Opening it up, she opened a messaging program.

"Spanner, got time for a video chat? I'm bored." She checked her email, and surfed the web as she waited for his reply. She glanced at the window when it dinged and shook her head a bit.

"Always. One minute." Then after a moment, she got a notification for the video chat. She clicked on it, and a window opened, Spanner sitting at a desk. His eyes widened after a moment.

"You look like garbage." He said, barely registering his surprise.

"Thank you very much, but I already knew that jerk. I have a fever you know…" She rolled her eyes making a face at him.

"Wow you sound like garbage too" He chuckled, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "Must be really sick to be out of school. What's your temperature?"

"39.4 last I checked." She said, clearing her throat. "Someone is bringing me my schoolwork in a bit. Just wanted to make sure I was awake. You know I look even worse when I first wake up." He nodded knowingly, and stretched.

"So, just thought of something. What are you going to do when you're done with Highschool? Are you going to stay there? Go to University? Or go back to England for college or what? What are you even going to major in?"

Philomena sighed and shrugged pitifully. She hadn't given any of it much thought at all. She didn't even know what she wanted to do with her life. She knew she should already have a plan, but she didn't. She bit her lip gently, and looked back to the screen.

"Haven't gotten that far in thinking yet." She replied, shrugging once more. "I mean, I finally got settled in a new country, new school, made friends and…" She trailed off, looking away from the screen. "That isn't important…"

"What's not important? And….and what? Finish your thoughts woman." He said, shaking his head. "I mean really…" He shook his head.

"Oh…ah… Someone kind of confessed to me and asked me out yesterday. Which is why I was in the rain so long, and why I got sick." She coughed a bit, reaching out and grabbing her water, taking a sip.

"And you felt that wasn't important?" He asked, leaning in closer to the screen. "Who was it? And how did you reply?"

"You're just like a girl sometimes Spanner." She said, taking another sip of water. "It was….Takeshi…..and I said I would go out with him."

"Philly…" He sighed, sitting back one more time. "I wish you wouldn't have…"

"Why not? I really do care about him."

"I can't tell you but.." He sighed softly running a hand through his hair.

"Well, I wouldn't not say yes without knowing why!"

"Just…learn to defend yourself? Take karate or just self defense courses…please?"

"Why? He's not dangerous" She replied, frowning. "I really don't like where this conversation is going." She glanced at her door when she heard a knock.

"Philly, someone's here to see you." Her mom called through the door.

"Send them in!" She called out, and looked back to her computer. "Spanner…I have to know why you're so against this…"

"I can't tell you…but Philly…." She shook her head and slammed her computer shut as the door opened. She set it to the side as the door opened. She looked over, seeing Yamamoto poke his head in giving her a smile.

"Hey. How you feeling?" He asked, coming into the room.

"Like I've been through hell itself." She replied, giving him a slight smile. He pulled out worksheets for her, and a notebook.

"I…brought your work and copied down Kyoko's notes. She takes better ones than I do." He set them down on the table near her bed.

"You don't take notes…" She replied, throwing her blanket around her shoulders.

"Exactly! Ahaha!" He set down what looked like a shopping bag. "I…brought you some Miso soup and some sushi. Pop always says that sushi is good for anything!" Philomena couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you so much." She coughed a few times, hiding it behind her blanket, then blinked. "Wait…what about baseball practice?"

"I skipped it today." He shoved the soup into her hands. "Have it before it gets cold. Do you have tea here? Sounds like your throat hurts."

"I'm british, of course there's tea." She said with a laugh as she opened the to go bowl and inhaling the delicious scent of the soup. "Mmm…" She tipped the bowl and sipped it. It soothed her throat, making her feel just a bit better. "Why did you skip practice?"

"Some things are more important than baseball." He said seriously, then gave her a smile. "Think your mom would let me make you some tea?"

"If you can deal with her questions, yeah. There should be a kettle on the stove." She drank her soup as she watched Yamamoto pull something else out of his school bag.

"Great. My dad gave me some tea that helps with fever. It's kinda gross, but it will make you feel better." He looked over and gave her a smile. "He makes me drink it whenever I get a fever." He walked over to the bed, and kissed her forehead, frowning a bit at how warm she was then turned towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Philomena watched him go and smiled to herself as she finished her soup. Spanner was acting too over protective. This had to be the sweetest guy ever. No way she would need to defend herself. She might have to defend her heart when she decided to leave Japan one day….

The next day, Philomena felt so much better. Thanks to Yamamoto and that tea, her fever broke overnight, and she felt good as new when she woke up. She had to remind herself to ask what kind of tea that was. Though being sick gave her a lot of time to think. And what she thought of was what she planned on doing with her life after school. She had a plan now. She would stay in Japan, go to university and teach English. By the time college rolled around, she'd be near fluent in Japanese. She thought it was a good plan, and even talked it over with her mother at breakfast. She smiled and agreed, being really supportive as usual.

The guys weren't at school again. It didn't bother her as much as it did the first time. She texted a thank you to Yamamoto and reported that she felt much better when lunch rolled around. Kyoko sat with her and they discussed various things, including Philomena's adventures in the rain. Kyoko gushed about how romantic and sweet it all was. At the end of that, she looked at Philomena seriously.

"Yamamoto-kun looked so sad yesterday when you weren't here. I think he missed you." She giggled a bit. "When he asked to copy my notes, I couldn't possibly say no. I was actually planning on going to your house myself for a visit, but when he said he was bringing all of that I decided not to."

"It's fine. I was able to get my work done, and he took care of me for a while before going home." She shook her head a bit. "Still can't believe he ditched baseball practice…"

"I thought that was weird…I walked home with Nii-san after the boxing club let out and I don't remember seeing him." She grinned. "He must like you more than baseball…which is saying something." Philomena had to agree. He talked about baseball like it was life, and apparently he was really good at it. He could probably go pro.

"So, Spanner had asked me what I had planned after school and all that. Never really thought about it until last night." She bit her lip as she finished her lunch. "So… I'm thinking of going to University here, and teaching English." She dusted her hands off, then cleaned up her mess. "I really like it in Japan. I made some really good friends here. You guys rate up there with Spanner. I don't want that many long distance friendships." She sighed and glanced over at Kyoko, who gave her a smile that seemed slightly forced.

"If you like it in Japan you should totally go for it!" She said with a smile. Philomena felt like she was the only person out of the loop about something. She just wished she knew what. She frowned a bit as class started up again.

A few days went past, and the guys weren't at school again. Yamamoto answered her texts, but at night, almost as soon as she laid down to go to sleep. She was concerned, but apparently Shoichi, Haru, and Kyoko weren't a fountain of information. There was no school, so she was hanging out with the three. Shoichi had to be physically pulled away from his computer. Apparently he was working on something for Spanner. Just hearing that made Philomena sure that he needed a break. Her Bestie could be such a slave driver. So with the help of Haru, they carried him out, Kyoko following with his shoes.

They now sat at a cafe, sipping some iced tea, and slices of cake in front of them. Philomena had given up trying to get information out of them, and they sat there, talking about various things. Kyoko mentioned the fact that Yamamoto had asked Philomena out, Haru started gushing about how cute and all that. Shoichi just looked over at his friend and raised a brow.

"What did Spanner say about this?"

"He's too over protective and was kind of being a jerk about it." She replied looking over at the computer wiz. "I can handle myself you know."

"Yeah I know…but…"  
"But what Shoichi? No one wants to give me a reason for their concern. So it's baseless. I can make my own choices, and I think this one is a pretty good one." She shut down the line of conversation by angrily taking a bite of her cake. Though, with cake it was hard to stay angry. They all fell into a comfortable conversation when her phone rang. She blinked a few times and looked. It was Yamamoto. She answered it, not being able to hide her smile.

"Hi there stranger. What's up?"

"Philly! Hey! I'm sorry we haven't talked much the past few days. I'm really glad I helped you feel better."

"It's fine. I'm sure you had a reason."

"You're seriously the best ever." She heard him clear his throat. "So, I want to take you out on a date tonight. Can you be ready in…ah…hold on." She heard him move the phone away. "Tsuna, how long do you think before we get home?"

"I don't know…an hour?" She heard rustling on the other end once more, and his voice rang clearer.

"Two hours?"

"Yeah, I'm at a cafe with Haru, Kyoko, and Shoichi right now. Want to meet up somewhere?" This would actually be their first date since they started going out. She felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach.

"If it's the one they usually go to…how about the sushi shop?"

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you then." She said, smiling brightly.

"See you then. And Philly?" There was a weird tone to his voice.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." She said before hanging up. Looking up she saw the other three staring at her with weird grins. "Oh lord…now what…?"

"That was so cute!" Haru squealed, hands clasped together.

"Simply adorable!" Kyoko added.

"So, they must be on their way back." Shoichi said quietly, sipping his drink. She glanced over at him and raised a brow as she ate her cake. She supposed if Yamamoto felt the need for her to know what was going on, then he would tell her… wouldn't he?

A/N: Had to repost and try to fix this chapter. Much fussing and swearing at the screen and I think I finally did it! Thanks to the one that brought it to my attention!


	5. Chapter 5

Philomena was having a lot of fun. Yamamoto took her to the zoo for their date. She did love animals. He kept her hand in his the entire time. It was strange, but she was enjoying it. What was also strange was when she asked about some bandages he had on his hands and such, and he evaded the question. She did pout a bit, until he kissed her forehead and gave her a warm smile.

"That's not what's important" He said in a soft voice. "What's important is that I'm here with you now." She blushed furiously. He was so amazingly sweet. She was about to say something, when something caught her eye. She ran to the railing, dragging him behind. "Eh…Philly..?"

"Penguins! I love Penguins! They're so cute!" She squealed, a bright smile lightening up her face. She heard him chuckle as he finally walked up beside her. She looked at him and saw him look at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah they're cute." He shrugged a bit She blinked a few times, and hugged his arm.

"What kinds of animals do you like?" She asked, curious.

"Sparrows…if we're talking about birds anyway. And I really like dogs." She smiled squeezing his arm a bit.

"I just like animals, but penguins are top of my list." She said, nodding to herself and turning back to the penguins waddling around. She leaned her arms onto the railing watching them. She felt him let go of her hand and slide his arm around her waist. They stayed there for a while in a comfortable silence.

They stayed for a while longer, talking mainly about what he missed at school, and checking out the other animals. On their way out, he turned to her, giving her a sheepish grin.

"Ah…can you stay here for a minute? Bathroom…" She simply nodded and watched him hurry off. She began wondering where he went after ten minutes went by. Checking her watch, she sighed softly. After a moment, she heard him call out to her.

"Philly!" When she looked over, his arm was behind his back. She gave him a smile, raising a brow.

"I feel like that took longer than it should have." She joked. A blush crept into Yamamoto's cheeks as he pulled his hand from behind his back, revealing a big penguin plush. Her eyes widened when she saw it. "Oh my God….Takeshi…"

"I ah… wanted to get you this when I saw it earlier…" He admitted, still holding it out.

"...It is so cute!" She hugged it, pinning his hand between it and her. He gave a laugh tugging at his hand.

"Glad you like it. I named it Shojiro." He said, blushing a bit. "Ahaha…can I have my hand back Philly?" She blinked a few times and loosened her grip.

"Oh…sorry." She blushed slightly. "Got too excited." She bit her lip gently as she hugged the plush penguin to her chest. He simply laughed and took one of her hands.

"Let's get you home." He paused for a second then looked over at her. "Unless you're hungry?" She shook her head.

"Nah, I ate way too much cake earlier. I'm going to get fat if I keep eating" She giggled into her gift, and glanced at him. Yamamoto seemed to have a disappointed look in his eyes. She sighed softly and nudged him with her shoulder. "Hey…" He looked over and gave her a smile, that didn't reach his eyes. "We can talk over the phone, or you can sit at my place for a while. We can sit outside, it's so pretty out right now." She grinned slightly. "You already met my mom, so it wouldn't be too awkward or anything. She probably has dinner made as it is."

"That sounds like a good plan." He said, his smile widening. "I…just missed you while I was away. Kind of wanted to make up for it." She smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek as they walked.

"You already made up for it." She said. "This surprise date was awesome. And you are like…the sweetest guy I've ever met. Just spending time with you when I do is time enough." She kept her eyes straight ahead, feeling like she may have embarrassed him enough for the day. They walked in silence until they got to her home. As they walked in they greeted her parents, and Yamamoto met her father. After the introductions and a few questions, Philomena led him to the back porch, where they sat. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. She felt the warmth of his body as he leaned against her.

"Philly?" Came the quiet inquiry.

"Hn?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" She asked with a slight laugh.

"For being." She watched his eyes slide closed. "You make everything worth it." She blushed furiously.

"What's everything?" She asked quietly, biting her lip gently.

"All the hard work with school, baseball….everything." She smiled a bit.

"I wouldn't go that far Takeshi. The security for your future should make it all worth it." She heard him sigh and felt the shrug.

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"Takeshi?" She asked, still not moving. When she heard him make a questioning noise, she let out a breath. "Any idea what you plan on doing with your life after school?" She felt him move, and looked over, watching him lay down, looking up at the sky.

"I don't know, maybe try for the majors." He shrugged a bit, his eyes looking a bit more serious. He glanced over at her. "What about you?"

"I was thinking of teaching english and stay in Japan."She shrugged a bit. "I don't know if that would work out very well."

"I think you would be great at it." He replied with a smile. Philomena couldn't help but smile at how much he believed in her. She fell back, laying next to him and looking up at the sky.

A/N: Yeah... so an entire chapter just for their date. Ahahaha ^^;; Sorry about that. It kinda got away from me. I hope you guys enjoyed this rather fluffy chapter! Let me know what you think! I really do love hearing from you guys. It makes it all worth it.


	6. Chapter 6

Time had flown by. Philomena and the rest were in their last semester of High school and things remained much the same. She was still dating Yamamoto, everyone had remained friends, and she felt that Kyoko and Haru more as sisters than friends. Sometimes the guys would disappear for a week or two at a time, still with out an excuse, and as always, Yamamoto made it a point to spend as much time as he could with her when he returned. She had stopped asking what happened long ago whenever he picked her up, bandaged and hurt in some way. She knew by the look in his eyes that he would tell her if he could.

On one of his absences, she had gotten acceptance letters to universities, sadly none in Japan. It seemed because she wasn't a citizen it was that much harder. So, she had decided on one in England. She knew exactly what that entailed, and didn't like it, but it couldn't be helped. She had planned on telling him right away, had already told the girls, but he hadn't been there. When the guys finally came back, they looked like they had been to hell and back. She didn't want to drop that bomb on him just yet.

She was heading out of the school, intent on meeting Kyoko at a cafe for a while before heading home, and stopped hearing Tsuna's voice coming from a nearby room.

"Yamamoto. You need to tell her." He said, a seriousness she wasn't used to in his voice. "She needs to know….everyone else does! How would you feel…?"

"No!" Yamamoto cut his friend off sharply. "If you didn't have to would you have told Kyoko? Telling her is getting her involved. I've been able to keep her uninvolved and SAFE this entire time. I plan on keeping it that way."

"For how long Yamamoto? And what would she think if she found out on her own?" He sighed. "You're lying to her…She doesn't deserve it…"

"I…I can't Tsuna…" She bit her lip and hurried off, not wanting to hear anymore. It kind of hurt that he wasn't telling her something, it always had, but she didn't think it was a choice by him. She changed into her shoes and headed out to meet with Kyoko. Plastering a hopefully natural looking smile on her face, she hoped she could bluff her way through the rest of the afternoon.

That fateful day started a domino effect. Just knowing he was willingly keeping something from her had caused a slight rift between them. She felt it, and the way she saw him when he thought she wasn't looking meant it must have felt it too. She was stubborn though, and still worked on the relationship. She tried hard to ignore what she had overheard, and their graduation ceremony came closer and closer. She had even tried to question Spanner on everything. That led to a hard brick wall of a dead end. Apparently, her so called best friend was a master at evasion. So, she sat back, and waited for the end of her time in Japan, hoping for a new start back home.

The graduation ceremony was uneventful and quite boring, like most ceremonies anywhere. Afterwards, everyone gathered at Takesushi to celebrate. Towards the end, Philomena stood up, getting everyone's attention.

"I…ah…. have an announcement to make. Now that everyone's in one place." She bit her lip gently, tugging on the bottom of her uniform skirt. "I'm going back home for college. I couldn't get into University here. I leave next week, so I can make sure I'm prepared. I'm sorry for the short notice." She glanced around, gauging reactions.

"You'll be back though!" Tsuna said cheerfully. "You plan on teaching English here and all…" She nodded slightly. "That's great!" She heard people congratulating her all around, and looked towards Yamamoto who gave her a bright smile that didn't reach his eyes and a thumbs up. She smiled a bit then looked away.

Later that evening, Yamamoto walked her home, his hand holding hers. He stayed silent until they arrived outside her home. He turned to her and sighed softly, giving her a sad look.

"I wished you would have told me about leaving sooner."

"I…tried…" She mumbled. "I…it was hard getting you alone when you were around." She sighed softly. "I'm going be gone for a few years…I don't expect anything out of you Takeshi." She frowned a bit seeing his confused look. "That came out wrong. What I mean is…I don't expect you to put your life on hold for me." She bit her lip, thinking. "I love you. I'm sure of that, but when I leave for school, I'm releasing you. It's too long for you to be tied down to a girlfriend that lives halfway across the world. It's not fair to you." She gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. As she turned to head inside, she felt a hand around her wrist.

"Philly…" She heard Yamamoto say, with such serious intensity, that it sent a chill down her spine. She looked at him over her shoulder. His eyes were almost cold. He gave a sharp yank, and suddenly she was against him, his arms around her tightly. "I don't want anyone else." He whispered, giving her a squeeze. "You may release me, but I won't really be. I want to keep in touch, I want to know when you come back to Japan." She slipped her arms around him and nodded.

"Of course silly." She said, smiling ever so slightly. They stayed like that, Yamamoto refusing to let her go, for a long while.

The day came when Philomena was scheduled to leave. She was disappointed that the guys couldn't make it to see her off. There was much hugging, crying and promises to call often. Kyoko and Haru were wiping tears away, and Shoichi was looking uncomfortable as she turned to get to her flight. Suddenly she felt a tug on the back of her shirt. Turning around, she looked down and saw a pair of teary green eyes staring up at her.

"Philly-nee are you coming back?" She knelt down and pulled Lambo into a hug.

"Of course I am sweetie. And I'll send you some packages. But you have to share." She gave him a smile. "OK? And I have Mama's number so I can call you ok?"

"Ok." He sniffled then gave her a smile. "Call me lots!" She giggled and let him go, looking up to see Sawada-san, the other children and Yamamoto-san. She felt tears threatening as she looked at the adults.

"Be careful Li-chan!" Sawada-san said, giving her a hug, then she moved out of the way for Yamamoto-san.

"I'm sorry my idiot child couldn't be here." He said, and handed her a package. "A snack for the trip." He kissed her forehead. "Come see me when you get back. You're always welcome. You are family." She smiled, sniffling, her tears finally falling.

"Thank you Yamamoto-san." She blinked as he shook his head.

"Call me father or something like that. After all, you two might as well be married. And call me as soon as you get there…after calling your parents of course." She smiled and nodded.

"I will." She turned and headed for her flight. Once she was safely seated, she opened the gift. Of course it was sushi, but there was something else. An envelope. It was addressed to her in Yamamoto's handwriting. She opened it, and a silver band in the shape of a sparrow fell out. It was so beautiful, and delicate looking. She smiled, then looked to the letter.

"Philly," It began. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you left. Just know I love you with all my being. I hope you will wear this ring. It isn't much, but it symbolizes my promise to you that one day, when we meet again, it'll be forever.

Love,

Takeshi"

She wiped away the tears that fell down her cheeks, and slipped the ring on. Looking at it, she had to wonder, why a sparrow of all things? She made a note to ask him next time she spoke to him. As soon as she put away the letter for safe keeping, she dug into Yamamoto-san's delicious sushi.

A/N: I'm sorry for the shorter chapters! I'm posting extra today to make up for it. Hope you guys enjoy! Let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

Five years later, Philomena found herself teaching English as a second language in London, awaiting an acceptance letter for a job in Japan. Her guidance counselor in College said she'd be at the top of the list having lived there for a few years and being completely fluent in Japanese. She had fallen out of touch with the guys, but she knew how they were doing thanks to Sawada-san, Lambo, Yamamoto-san and the girls. She even rarely spoke to Spanner and Shoichi these days. It bothered her.

She dismissed her last class for the evening, and sat at her desk, staring at the intricate sparrow ring on her finger. It glinted in the light as if mocking her.

"Ah what do you know?" She asked angrily, then stood, grabbing her books.

"Philomena Johns?" She heard someone say from the back of the classroom, a thick Italian accent clinging to his words. She jumped slightly, and looked over. A tall, slender man in a black suit with a fedora stood, leaning against a desk, arms crossed.

"Ah…yes…I'm sorry but class is over…." She said nervously. He looked suspicious to her. He tipped his hat up, revealing dark eyes and a handsome face.

"That's not what I'm here for. My name is Reborn, and my students have need of your expertise." She blinked a few times.

"Eh…?"

"Most of them speak Japanese, and some Italian, but they need to learn English." He gave her a grin as he stood to his full height. "As the Vongola Famiglia grows, it's expanding into English speaking territory. So, they need to learn how to speak and understand it."

"Famiglia… as in Mafia…?" She asked, definitely suspicious now.

"Actually yes. And I heard you are the best. Some of them are not the brightest, but I think you could get through to them." She took a breath to say something, then blinked a few times. Vongola…where had she heard that word before? She shrugged it off, and looked at him.

"I'm actually waiting on acceptance to go to Japan to teach there….and I'm pretty happy here so…"

"You will be very well compensated, as well as room and board, also all travel expenses are on the Famiglia. We are aware that we are uprooting you in such a way. All we ask is that you do the job we pay you for and keep it secretive. The boss is a very quiet person."

"Isn't the Mafia illegal?"

"Vongola Decimo is very different. As you will come to understand once you meet him and his closest confidants." She bit her lip, thinking it over. She could use the money, and these classes were boring. She could use a change of scenery, why not Italy?

"If I agree, when do we leave?"

"When can you be ready?" He asked, grinning a bit more. She thought about that. Philomena didn't really have anything there tying her down. She played with her ring, then nodded. For some reason, this felt right.

"Give me enough time to pack a few bags?" She said, giving him a smile. He nodded.

"Very well. Do you mind if I follow you? That way I can drive you to the airstrip." She blinked a few times and nodded. "One more thing, " He said, motioning to the door for them to start walking. "That ring… it's very unique. Is that by chance a sparrow?"

"It is." She replied, looking at it.

"Where would you come by something like that?"

"It was a gift." She replied simply, not going into anymore detail. As she walked, she missed the grin that crossed Reborn's face.

Philomena walked into the makeshift classroom, nose in a lesson plan, she turned her back to the students, and started speaking in Japanese as she wrote her name on the board.

"My name is Ms. Johns. You are learning English, so we will be diving into the deep end so to speak. There will only be English spoken in this room. No honorifics. I will call you all by your first name. There is no disrespect, it's how it's done. I will call roll and you will reply in English." She grabbed the call sheet from her desk, without looking at her students, and looked down. "Chrome Dokuro."

"Y…yes…." She heard a soft spoken girl. She smiled.

"Good. Now…" She blinked a few times. "Ah…Hayato Gokudera…?"

"Tch." She started feeling uneasy. She didn't think that many people had that name, but it could just be a fluke. So she continued.

"Hibari…Kyoya…" This was more than a coincidence now. But she didn't hear anyone, so she continued. "Lam….wait….is this some kind of joke?" She frowned and looked up. Blinking at her were eyes she knew very well. The girl had her hands around Lambo's mouth so he didn't blow it, and everyone else broke out into a smile. Her frown deepened as she looked from person to person. "I….guess I'll continue." She cleared her throat. "Lambo" Finally the girl who must have been Chrome let him go.

"Here! The great Lambo is right here Philly-nee!" She took a deep breath, and marked by his name.

"Ryohei Sasagawa"

"Here!"

"Tsunayoshi Sawada?"

"Here"

"Takeshi Yamamoto" She said finally. He raised his hand with a slight smile.

"Here" He said quietly. Philomena sighed, rubbing her temples, pulling her lesson plan in front of her.

"We will talk at great length and probably loudly as to WHY I am teaching a mafia family english and it is in fact you guys, and the need not to share this information at all with me in the years I have known all of you." She glanced towards the girl. "Except you Chrome. Nice to meet you." She gave the shy girl a large smile, then held up the book. "Let's get started."

When she dismissed them, she crossed her arms, sitting in her chair, staring at them all, then her eyes landed on Tsuna.

"You. Stay. Everyone else can leave unless you really want to hear this." She glared at everyone, daring anyone to say something.

"You can't talk to the tenth like that!" Gokudera yelled, slamming his fists on the desk.

"Excuse me?" She said, scowling and glaring right back at Gokudera. "You really want to start with me? Because you have never seen me upset sir."

"Tch." He sat back down in his chair, arms crossed.

"Philly…I'm…"

"Hold it Tsuna." She held up a hand, waiting for him to quiet. "From what Reborn said, I'm guessing you're Decimo. So….first question…Why me? Out of all the teachers in the world why me?"

"Not my choice. Reborn did that on his own."He shrugged a bit. "He only picks out who he thinks are the best for the Vongola."

"Ok…so….why didn't anyone tell me?" She asked finally letting all the hurt she had felt show. "I mean all these years….all that wondering…"

"Not my choice either. Talk to that one." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards Yamamoto who was lounging in his desk. "He didn't want to get you involved, didn't want to put you in danger or something." He shrugged slightly. "I thought you'd be in more danger if you didn't know. But…" He shrugged a bit. She sighed, just mentally exhausted. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Fine. I'm sorry I took up your time." She stood and turned walking for the door. "I'm going to bed…"

"Philly…?" She heard Tsuna ask hesitantly. She paused, looking over her shoulder. "I know it doesn't mean much now, but I am sorry, and I wanted to tell you." She gave him a smile and nodded.

"I know you did." She sighed, and turned to the three guys. "I passed by that room where you two were having that argument years ago. I didn't know what it was about, and I was hoping Takeshi would tell me sooner or later." She simply shrugged, and turned heading out of the room. Biting her lip, she went into her bedroom, which was nearby. Closing the door, she leaned against the door. This was a bombshell. Of all the things she considered Yamamoto hid from her, being a mafioso was last on the list.

Philomena wasn't sure what she would do. She did agree to this, her safety had been guaranteed by Reborn, and at least she knew she had friends here, but still. She was lied to. She felt more betrayed than anything. She was jerked from her thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

"Philly…"She heard Yamamoto's voice drift in. "I know…I know you're angry with me. I don't expect you to understand what was going through my mind. I…" She stood up and opened the door, stepping to the side allowing him to come in. He looked down at her, giving her a slight smile as he walked in.

"I'm not angry…" Philomena began, playing with her ring, which had become a nervous habit. "I feel hurt and betrayed. This isn't something small Takeshi. I mean…." She sighed softly. "When we were in high school, how you'd come back bandaged up and hurt…I wanted to help you…to…know what happened. But, after a while, I stopped asking. I saw the look in your eyes when I mentioned it, like you wanted to tell me, but couldn't. Then I found out it was your choice I was left in the dark. I…still stood by you because there had to be a reason. But the thing is, I knew everyone around me knew. I felt like I couldn't be trusted…I guess I could understand that, everyone else knew each other so much better, I was an outsider." She shrugged slightly and went over sitting down on her bed. She kept her eyes on her hands, twisting them together nervously. She heard her door close, footsteps and the bed sink beside her. Yamamoto put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It's none of that. After all, Tsuna did want me to tell you. But…I couldn't bring myself to. You somehow stayed out of danger that entire time, and I didn't put you at risk. Kyoko and Haru had been through so much that I didn't want you to go through. Everyone that ends up with us ends up in danger somehow, and I didn't want to ruin that for you." He sighed softly squeezing her gently. "I understand that…" He sighed again. "I understand that you were upset knowing I'd leave for a long time without a word, and would come back hurt, that everyone knew something you didn't. All I can do is apologize and keep my promise I made you all those years ago."

Philomena closed her eyes, snuggling into his warmth. She had really missed him. She had seen him during the Holidays, when she went to visit Japan, they would text each other, and talk once in a while, but it just wasn't the same. And sure, during their time apart, she tried dating other people, but she always found herself comparing them to him. To her, he was perfect, and no one had even come close. She felt his arm slide down and take her hand that wore his ring, running his thumb over it.

"You're still wearing this." She heard him chuckle. "You're probably wondering why I chose this design…" She nodded, still leaning against him and not wanting to move. "How about I show you?" She blinked a few times as he pushed her gently to a sitting position and he held up a box.

"What's that?" She asked, blinking a few times. He just grinned and held up his other hand, a blue flame appearing on his ring. She blinked a few more times, thinking the flame resembled water more than fire. He brought the ring to the box, then held it out. There was a whoosh and two figures appeared. One was an akita and the other was a swallow.

"I'm what's known as a guardian. I'm one of six people that Tsuna trusts more than anything. We protect him and back him up. I'm the rain guardian, and these are my box animals. The Akita is Jiro and the swallow is Kojiro." Philomena just looked at the animals then at Yamamoto, a lot of things falling into place.

"I feel like that explains a lot of what confused me when you first asked me out…" She said quietly, then blinked a few times as Yamamoto lifted her hand, and Kojiro settled on her ring.

"Ahaha…probably. I mean, if you said you hated the rain, I felt like my heart would have broken and I would have never confessed to you." He gave her a smile, and looked back to the ring and the bird. "I had this ring specially made by Tsuna's inventors. Actually one was pretty on board…it became a competition…and well, this was the end product." He laughed a bit. "Actually they explained how it worked, but…ah…I didn't understand any of it. All I know is that if you were in danger, Kojiro would be there to protect you since I couldn't be." He held out the box once more, the animals disappearing into it. "So, it's more than just that promise I made to you, it was a promise I made to myself that I wouldn't let anything happen to you as long as I could possibly help it."

Philomena blushed, not sure what to say. She couldn't believe he went to so much trouble just to guarantee her safety, even back then. At a loss for words, she hugged him tightly. Chuckling, he hugged her back. After a moment, he leaned back, looking her in her eyes.

"You're not going to leave once you're done with your job are you?"

"What else would I do here?" She asked, shrugging a bit. She saw him frown slightly. "I mean, I teach, it's what I do."

"I guess you're right." He gave her a bright smile. "I guess we'll figure that out when we get to it." She watched him stand, then lean down and kiss the top of her head. "Get some sleep. No doubt as soon as you got here, Reborn made you start teaching. I mean, it's the only way you wouldn't have known we were your students." He laughed and turned heading out. Pausing at the door, he looked at her over his shoulder. "I love you. Sweet dreams." With that he left. She sat there for a moment, staring at the door blinking a few times. That was a lot to take in.

A/N: Time skip! I had fun with this chapter! Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a week since Philomena got to Italy, and she was getting along quite well. She knew how to get around by now, knew some of the town that was nearby, and knew enough Italian to run into a store. And it made her happy to get out of that huge mansion known as Vongola Headquarters. It was just too big. She knew her way around, buts still got lost on occasion.

Today was one of those occasions. She bit her lip gently as she turned down a hallway that looked unfamiliar. She frowned her herself as she walked, work in her arms. She turned another corner, coming across a sitting room. It had a TV several sofas and chairs, and people sitting around in uniform. She paused, knowing this wasn't where she was going, and watched for a moment wide eyed. There was seven of them, all in black and beige coats with a patch on the sleeve. And they all seemed nuttier than a fruit cake. She backed away and turned about to go the way she came, when a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Ushishishi. Who's the pretty little peasant who stumbled in here? Never seen you here before." She froze, the man's voice scaring her more than anything else right now.

"Ohhh Leave her alone Bel. She doesn't look like she's part of the family" Came an effemininate voice from further in the room.

"Ushishishi, then what's she doing in Headquarters?"

"Um…" She mumbled, just wanting to get out of there. The hand moved from her shoulder to her wrist spinning her around. Her work fell to the ground as she faced the owner of the psychotic voice.

"Eh?" He looked to her hand, his smile falling slightly, then looked to the ground, bending and picking up the text book. "You're…. a teacher?" He laughed that laugh once again, tossing the book down, eyeing her ring once more. "Get you're crap outta the boss's sight peasant." He hissed as he tossed the book back down.

"Awww you're so mean Bel!" The one who was wearing sunglasses said, pouting and went over to help her, but was stopped by a cruel voice.

"Lussuria, let the trash get their own shit up."She heard him scoff. "And get out before we take the trash out ourselves"

"Ahahaha. Do what now Xanxus? I don't think I heard you right" Philomena breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that familiar voice.

"VOOOIIII! Yamamoto!" She heard one yell out. "You can't talk to our shitty boss like that!" She continued to gather up her things well aware that nothing was in order, but just wanting to get out of there.

"Tsuna's ready to meet with you Xanxus." Yamamoto said, voice way too serious, then he crouched down, his hands coming in her line of sight, gathering some of her things. "They didn't hurt you did they Philly?" He asked quietly, helping her to her feet. When she shook her head, he smiled slightly, leading her out of the room. "How did you end up in there?"

"Wrong turn." She mumbled, holding her things to her chest in an effort to keep from shaking. She felt his arm go around her shoulders.

"I'm just glad they didn't pull anything." He sighed softly as they walked. "I should introduce you to Squalo, just in case something like that happens again. That way they know you belong here." She bit her lip gently, staying quiet. Did she belong here? She felt like, after seeing that, she had been protected. There was the obvious bad side to all of this. She let out a breath, getting pulled from her thoughts by Yamamoto.

"Hey, are you ok? You're shaking…and you look pale." She looked over at him and his eyes widened, his mouth tipping down in a frown. "I'm going to talk to Tsuna about them"

"No" Philomena said finally, clearing her throat hearing her voice crack. "No. I mean… I shouldn't have gone in there. I should have left right away. It's my fault I still get lost." She sniffled, feeling tears threaten, her emotions finally taking hold. She gave him a questioning look when they stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Do you have a class today?"

"Ah…yeah…. Lambo, then Gokudera." He nodded and pulled out his phone, pressing a button then holding it to his ear.

"Hey Gokudera!" He said after a minute. "Yeah yeah I know we're in the same building, but…hey…" He frowned slightly, giving off a serious air. "This is important. Yeah Your and Lambo's classes today have been cancelled. Hey! Don't…." He sighed softly. "Gokudera….I…" She bit her lip then heard something, looking down the hall. There stood Gokudera yelling up a storm into his phone.

"Well, isn't she supposed to be teaching us?! What the hell is she doing here if she cancels class?!" The guys were so engulfed in their argument they didn't notice they were in the same hall. The silver haired man stalked down the hall in their direction. Philomena felt her temper about to snap as she listened.

"Damn it Gokudera will you listen!"

"To what? Come on Yamamoto, you'd say the same thing if you weren't…" He got cut off by a text book flying into his head. Next thing anyone knew, he was on the floor.

"Jerk…." She grumbled, walking off towards her room.

"Ahahaha!" Yamamoto laughed, then blinked a few times. "Philly! Wait up!" She stopped at the next intersection to wait for him. She turned, tears falling down her cheeks and watched as Yamamoto crouched beside his friend. "Just so you know, Philly just had a run in with the Varia. Belphegor and Xanxus were messing with her. She's scared out of her mind." He raised a brow as he stared at the man. "Anything else?"

"Oh shit…I had no idea. I….is she OK?" He sat up rubbing his head, handing Yamamoto the book.

"I…she says she is, but Belphegor on his own is scary enough as you know." He stood, holding the book. "I'm taking her to my room to lay down if you need either of us." Gokudera nodded a bit, and looked at Philomena.

"Hey…ah… Philly, I'm… I'm sorry about what I said…." She simply shrugged, looking away.

"At least I know how you feel about my being here. Just… you can stop taking the class Gokudera. I can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn."

After a moment, Yamamoto caught up to her, and took one of her hands, leading her in a different direction. She blinked a few times as she let him lead her. After a few minutes they came to a door. She looked up and down the hall, trying to figure out where they were as he opened the door. She went in when he motioned for him too, and glanced around as she waited for him to follow her. There were some articles of clothing scattered on the floor, the dresser had a bamboo sword, baseball bat in the corner and the bedside table had a few pictures on it.

"Welcome to my room. I figured less people would bother you here." He said, closing the door behind him, and taking off his suit jacket.

"This is obviously your room." She said with a laugh, motioning to the bat, and moved to the table, looking at the pictures. There was one of everyone in high school, a family portrait from when his mom was still alive and … She blinked a few times, picking up the last picture. The picture was of her standing on a bridge, wind blowing, at sunset. She smiled softly, remembering that date. They were walking back from getting some ice cream. The sunset looked so pretty over the water, she stopped to admire it.

"I…when did you take this?" She asked, holding it out, feeling a blush creep on to her cheeks.

"Just before I joined you." He said quietly, taking it from her hands. "You looked so beautiful, so I snapped a picture on my phone. I kept it until I could print it…" She gave him a smile and hugged him around his waist.

"I…thank you" She whispered, feeling tears roll down her cheeks.

"Ah! You're crying! I….didn't mean to upset you! I'm sorry!" She felt his arms wrap around her. She simply shook her head, smiling a bit against his chest.

"No… it's fine. I…just thank you. No matter how far apart we've been you never left me…no matter what I said."

"Of course!" He laughed, resting his head on hers. "You're my girlfriend. My father thinks the world of you and my friends like you.

They laid in his bed for a few hours, talking. Philomena changed into one of his t-shirts so she could be more comfortable. As they cuddled and talked, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. As soon as her eyes closed, there was a loud banging on the door. She groaned and frowned.

"What is that?" She asked. Yamamoto sat up, frowning. He went to the door as the banging was repeated. She sat up as the door opened. One of the guys from earlier was on the other side. She quickly covered her face with the blanket hiding.

"Voi! Yamamoto! Thought you wanted to train next time I came by!"

"Well, after what Belphegor did…." Yamamoto said in a serious tone.

"What does that matter? She isn't part of the Famiglia. It's not like anyone hurt her." The long haired one said matter of factly. Yamamoto sighed, opening the door, motioning to the bed.

"Squalo, this is Philly. She's my girlfriend since high school and Reborn brought her here to teach English. So, it matters plenty." He crossed his arms, staring the one named Squalo down.

"So this is the one you keep talking about?" Squalo asked, raising a brow, then sighed. "Fine. Next time then kid." The man stalked away and Philly let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that" Yamamoto said, starting to close the door, then blinked as there was another knock.

"Now what?" Philly asked quietly. He opened the door once again to reveal Tsuna standing there, looking quiet concerned.

"Gokudera told me what happened. Is Philly ok?" He asked, looking at Yamamoto.

"She's better now." Yamamoto replied with a smile.

"Um…right here…." She said, pointing at herself, blinking a few times. Tsuna nodded, then looked in Philomena's direction, giving her a warm smile.

"Of course, I'm sorry Philly, and I apologize for the Varia. They tend to get a bit out of hand. Just let me know if there's a way I can make it up to you." She gave Tsuna a slight smile, then nodded. His eyes looked her over in a serious matter, as if he was checking for injuries. "Your wrist is bruised."

"Huh?" Both Philomena and Yamamoto asked, eyes wide. She looked to her wrist, running a finger over the thin purple smudges from Belphegor's fingers.

"If that's the extent of your injuries, then we should consider ourselves lucky" Tsuna said with a smile. "I'm sorry about bothering you guys. Have a good rest of the night." With that he headed out, closing the door behind him. Yamamoto let out a breath and walked back over, sitting on the bed next to Philomena, taking her hand and examining her wrist. A slight frown pulled at his lips as his fingers ran over the bruises.

"I'm sorry" He said softly, before kissing where his fingers just were.

"I.. don't apologize." She said, shaking her head. "You can't protect me all the time, things are going to happen. I'm a big girl, and should learn to take care of myself." She glanced over at the man she loved, and saw him looking fairly serious, his attention turned inward. After a few minutes of thinking, he gave her a bright smile.

"Yeah maybe. We'll figure it out at breakfast tomorrow." He wrapped his arms around her and fell down onto the bed. "Time to sleep though." She simply laughed, snuggling up to him, closing her eyes with a yawn as he kissed the top of her head.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

True to his word, Yamamoto decided to figure the best way for Philomena to defend herself at breakfast. She was sitting at the table beside him of course, still wearing his t-shirt and a pair of her jeans, hair in a messy bun as she listened to the conversation at the table. It was like she wasn't even there. She simply sipped her tea.

"Ok so, Philly should learn something to defend herself. I mean, the Varia are friendly, and that's still a problem. Ryohei, you're good at things like this, what do you think?" Yamamoto explained while he ate. Ryohei Sasagawa grinned as he set his fork down.

"I think that's an extremely great idea! I taught Kyoko to box since we were kids. Maybe…"

"No boxing." Yamamoto said, cutting him off.

"I don't know…" Gokudera said, setting his coffee down. "Hand to hand is always a good thing to learn. Maybe to supplement something else."

"What would Philly be more comfortable with?" Tsuna asked, looking over at her. She simply shrugged.

"Her small stature should account for something. Hand to hand might be a good idea, but she wouldn't have much reach." Reborn chimed in, walking into the room. "Maybe some sort of weapon? Fire arms or sword or knives or something."

"But you just said she didn't have reach…" Tsuna said, sighing.

"Have you learned nothing?" Reborn asked, smacking his student upside the head. "Knives can be thrown also, giving you range. And like firearms would be easy to conceal."

"That might be a good idea" Yamamoto said thoughtfully. "Sadly, I can't really teach her. I mean, I can use one, but it's a last resort."

"There are plenty of instructors here. Also, it's a good idea for Ryohei to teach her hand to hand." Reborn said with finality. "We'll schedule it around her English classes" With that, he finished his coffee and set the cup down, heading out of the room. Philomena blinked a few times, not too sure what just happened.

"Extreme! You ready for this Philly!" She didn't know what to think.

"I…don't know…" She said into her teacup. Yamamoto put an arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek.

"Don't worry. He's a great teacher." She was still unsure, but didn't seem like she had a choice. She simply nodded and gave everyone a smile.

So that's how it started. Later that day, during her class with Tsuna, Reborn brought a paper with her schedule printed out on it. It seemed right after this, she had training with Ryohei, and after her class with Yamamoto later she had knife training. She set the paper down and looked at Tsuna, of course speaking in English. It was the rule for the classroom.

"Why is this so important?" She leaned against her desk, crossing her arms. "I know I have to defend myself, but isn't this excessive?"

"Ah…" Tsuna fumbled, obviously gathering his thoughts, translating in his mind and all that. "Well…. we all care about you. One day…you…maybe alone and trouble might ….eh…" He sighed and switched to Japanese. "Sorry Philly….it was making my head hurt. Ehehehehe….. Anyway, you're important to us. And I was waiting to see what you wanted to do after, but after seeing how close you and Yamamoto are once again…" He frowned, crossing his arms. "We want you to stay…as a part of the Famiglia. You'd continue to teach English to those who need to learn it, but as my personal assistant. I need someone to help out with phone calls, errands, keeping my appointments straight. And if I can't get this down, to translate for me." He held up his hand as she went to say something. "See, I don't have anyone yet, because I need someone I can trust with my life as it were. Everyone that has that sort of trust already have their parts. Your danger would be minimal, and you would never have to be that far apart from Yamamoto for that long ever again."

"Ah Tsuna…I…" She stopped, biting her lip and thought about it. She was much happier there than she was at any point and time. On top of that, everything she told Yamamoto was true. She just wouldn't be happy not being with him, and knowing he came back safely each time he was sent out on a mission. Her eyes widened as she came to the obvious conclusion here. She knew she loved him of course, but now she was sure he was The One. She turned her gaze to Tsuna, who gave her a smile and a knowing look. "I'll do it." She said with determination. "But it's going have to be after the classes are done. I have no time…seriously…Reborn is a slave driver." She said, handing Tsuna the schedule.

"I could have told you that." He muttered then blinked a few times. "Are you going to sleep…?"

"Very little…" She muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

The next morning, Philomena was woken up by a very energetic Ryohei bursting into her room. She nearly fell out of bed, and checked the time on her phone. It was four in the morning.

"Good morning Philly!" He yelled, jogging into place. She groaned, getting on her feet.

"I didn't know this early in the morning existed." She complained as she went to grab some clothes. "Lemme just change." Something landed on her head. She pulled it off and looked at it. It was workout clothes, a tank top, yoga pants, sneakers, and a hoodie. Everything was black, except the hoodie which was blue.

"Reborn said you'd need these." He said, turning to the door. "Hurry up, the quicker we start, the quicker we're done." When he closed the door, she yawned then changed into the new clothes.

She finally got some tea and breakfast after running two miles. Right after breakfast, she had class with Ryohei, then Chrome. After that was lunch, then hand to hand with Ryohei. After that class was Lambo then Gokudera's English classes. By dinner, Philomena felt ready to fall asleep in her food. She couldn't just yet, after dinner, she had knife training. After that, she had to sit down with Reborn and the ever illusive inventors to go over something they had for her.

Philomena had just finished her knife training, her instructor telling her she was a natural. She still managed to cut herself on her leg somehow. She was heading for where Reborn instructed her to go. It was a basement level and started looking more and more industrial like. She came up to a door, and took a deep breath. She was dead tired and just wanted a shower then bed. Yawning, she knocked on the door. After a moment a very round man in a suit answered. He gave her a smile and moved so she could step inside.

"You must be Philomena. I'm Giannini, inventor and weapons builder for Vongola Decimo. Pleasure to meet you. Please sit. Everyone else will be here shortly." She blinked a few minutes and sat in a chair he had motioned to. It looked like a conference room, but there were monitors everywhere, computers all over the table, and a few tablets scattered everywhere.

"Call me Philly please Giannini." She said, giving him a tired smile.

"Of course." He motioned to her hand. "That ring. Yamamoto had asked us to make that years ago. Have you had a chance to use it?"

"Thankfully no." She said quietly, then made a face when she saw his disappointment. "But Kojiro does like to sit there when Takeshi has him out." She added, hoping it'd make him feel better. What a peculiar little man….

"Oh! That's wonderful! We weren't sure if you'd have an affinity for rain flames, or if it was even needed for that particular piece." He said, a questioning tone to his voice.

"Oh…um…I don't know…" She said quietly. "I just learned about that when Takeshi explained it…"

"I see." He checked the time then sighed. "They are always late…" At that another door opened and Reborn came in dragging two very familiar men.

"They were ignoring the time…" He said, tossing them into chairs. "When we say a meeting at a certain time, we mean it. I have other things I need to be doing. And Miss Johns probably needs some sleep. I'm sure Ryohei had her up before dawn."

"S-sorry…" Shoichi stammered, then looked at Philomena, giving her a smile. "Long time no see!"

"I was working on something for Vongola… He had asked me…" Spanner trailed off and looked over, blinking a few times. "Philly…when did you get here?"

"She's been with us for a month or so." Reborn said, taking a seat, arms crossed. "If you didn't live in your own little world you would have realized that sooner."

"Oh! So you're the one teaching them English?"

"Yes Spanner….I am…" She said tiredly. She was beat and just wanted to get through this. "So, what is this about?" She asked, looking at Reborn, who was less likely to get sidetracked.

"These guys have made you a tablet. It runs a program to learn Italian, has information on most of the Famiglia's we'd deal with and a program to help with Decimo's assistant's needs." He replied, then looked to Giannini.

"Exactly right. It'll have alerts if you double schedule, reminders, and it's very easy to use. The Italian teaching program is quite easy. It should help you learn it quickly." Giannini added.

"And since Philly has an affinity for languages, it'll be that much easier for her." Spanner added, picking up a tablet, and playing around with it. "If you can give me a few hours with it, I can actually personalize it to fit her better."

"And, you can add all your personal things to it as well Philly. Basically it's an assistant's assistant." Shoichi added with a smile. "I'm sure there'll be more once Spanner is done with it."

Philomena just nodded, taking it all in. She looked at everyone around the table. She knew she should say something, but what? She felt like they were all looking at her expectantly. She bit her lip gently, then gave them all a tired smile.

"I appreciate all of your hard work. I'm sure this will be a lot of help to me when I take the role of Decimo's assistant." She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You haven't had to have to use that ring, have you Philly?" Spanner asked, concern in his voice. She shook her head.

"No thankfully." She replied, looking at it. She caught Reborn smirk out of the corner of her eye, then heard a familiar click of a gun."Ah…" She said nervously, turning to face where the sound came from.

"What the hell are you doing?" Spanner asked, standing.

"Don't worry." Reborn said quietly, leveling the gun at Philly, and pulling the trigger. She felt the bullet fly by, grazing her cheek. Her eye widened. "The next one won't miss." She heard another click, but couldn't move. After that, everything happened quickly. Philomena raised her hands in a defensive move as Reborn pulled the trigger. Her ring heated up for a moment to an almost unbearable temperature. Her eyes widened as the bullet was suspended in front of her in blue flames, Yamamoto's sparrow circling her. At the same time, she felt a calmness come over her.

"Well…thank God it worked…." Spanner said in a flat tone. Shoichi and Giannini looked quite pale as they stared at the scene.

"I knew it would." Reborn said, pleased with himself. Philomena raised her hand, letting Kojiro land on her ring. She looked at everyone and let out a shaky breath.

"I thought I was going to die." She whispered, then looked to the sparrow. "Thank you." And took her other hand, running a finger over it's head before it disappeared.

"We're done here." Reborn announced, standing. "Spanner, get that to Philly tomorrow once you're done with it."

After two weeks of nothing but classes and training, Philomena was exhausted. She ended up only getting a couple of hours of sleep a night, and waking up before dawn to run with Ryohei. After a few days, Yamamoto started running with them. He insisted that it was because he was slacking and getting out of shape, she secretly hoped it was because he wanted to spend some time with her.

Everyone realized how much work she had been putting in when at dinner one night, she nearly fell asleep in her plate. The only thing that stopped her from getting a face full of lasagna was Yamamoto's quick reflexes. She opened her eyes what felt like seconds later to find herself in his lap, head resting on his shoulder. Lifting her head, Philomena saw everyone staring at her, concern evident on their faces.

"I'm taking her to bed" Yamamoto said, standing up, carrying her bridal style.

"But…Philly should really eat something." Tsuna said, worry filling his voice.

"She can't eat it if she's sleeping." Yamamoto stated, then looked around the table. "She's getting worked too hard. When's the last time you caught any of us sleeping over our food?" He held her closer in a protective manner.

"Ah….."Tsuna mumbled, poking at his food.

"Middle school…." Gokudera muttered, frowning a bit. "Millifore…."

"Exactly. We're not in that kind of danger." He turned and headed out of the room, carrying her.

"I can get myself to my room." Philomena mumbled, snuggling up to him as she yawned.

"I know." He smiled down at her. "I'm taking you to mine. You are taking the day off tomorrow and resting. Ryohei won't think of looking for you in there."

"Oh…" She mumbled blushing faintly. That made sense.

"But first, you're going to take a nice relaxing bath. You'll probably sleep like the dead until lunch time tomorrow." He said, moving a bit so he could open his door. The tone of his voice let her know there was no room for argument, so she just let him take care of her for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

Philomena woke up the next day, and went to sit up. She blinked a few times as she was promptly held tightly, brought back to a laying position.

"Nope!" She heard a cheerful voice say. "You are not getting out of bed today. You were exhausted." The voice went serious at the last sentence. She squirmed a bit, pouting.

"I have so much to do today though…"

"Like?"

"Classes. My schedule isn't forgiving you know."

"And that's the problem." Yamamoto sighed, pulling her to lay on his chest. "No one can do all that you've been doing for too long. And so, I don't have anything to do today. I already talked to Tsuna and no one is to knock at that door or bother either of us."

"That sounds weird…like we're doing weird stuff in here." She said, making a face at him.

"Well, that may be, but my phone rang three times, and Tsuna knocked at the door, you didn't budge. He agreed that you needed the day off. You can go back to trying to kill yourself tomorrow." And he raised a brow. "We love each other, and we've been together forever….what would be so weird about that stuff?"

"People talking about it?"

"Fair enough." He kissed her forehead, then began stroking her hair. "So, I am going to make sure you do nothing but rest and relax today. Boss' orders." He gave her a smile. She couldn't help but yawn.

"Ok, but what about eating. I'm pretty hungry." She blinked a few times. "What time is it anyway?"

"One in the afternoon" He replied with a smile.

"I slept all day…."

"Yep."

"And you stayed in here?"

"Pretty much."

"Pretty much?"

"I had to shower among other things, then you know, food…just ate breakfast." He said, giving her a squeeze.

"Oh. Well…" She squirmed again. She did skip dinner after all. She felt like she was starving. "I'm like really hungry…."

"Oh!" He let her go and laughed. "Right! You didn't eat dinner." Yamamoto let her go. Philomena sat up and stretched, her joints and muscles popping. She looked over at him and smiled a bit. He sat up, moving to the edge of the bed, slouching a bit. He was wearing sweatpants and a yellow t-shirt. She smiled as she got up, grabbing her work out pants for the day before.

"You look the way you did when we were in high school sitting like that." She said quietly. He looked over and gave her a bright smile.

"I grabbed you some more clothes from your room." He stood, going over to a nearby chair, picking up a stack of clothes. "And you always look the same as back then." He handed them to her. She blushed faintly as she took the clothes.

"Thank you" She whispered, then turned heading to the bathroom. It didn't take her long to change, and when she came out, he was changed as well, in jeans and a different t-shirt.

"Why don't we go out for lunch?"

"But I thought you wanted me to stay in bed?"

"Well, yeah, that's so you won't go off and do work. If you're out of the house, there's no way!" He laughed, a hand behind his head.

"Yeah ok then." She said, smiling. "Let's go then."

They had lunch at a cute little restaurant near the center of town, hidden from normal view. Philomena would have never known that it was there if it weren't for Yamamoto telling her. And after lunch, they walked around the small town for a while, stopping off to have some gelato from a stand. They ate as they walked and talked. Yamamoto told her stories of the things he'd done with Tsuna, while Philomena told him stories of terrible dates she had. Once they were done their dessert, they stopped on a bridge. It was late in the afternoon by now, nearly evening. Philomena leaned on the railing, and looked over at Yamamoto, who had his phone out.

"What are you doing?" She laughed, pushing some hair from her face.

"I don't know what it is about you and bridges" He said, giving her a smile. "Maybe it's the way you look off into the distance, but I had to get another picture." She looked forward once again, hiding a blush.

"I don't know how you put up with me." She said quietly. "I'm so involved in work, and when we first met it was my school work. I feel like I don't give you enough attention." She let out a tiny yelp when he came over, wrapping his arms around her, and turning her to face him.

"I think the same thing everyday, always have. 'How does she put up with me? The Famiglia asks so much from me, I don't pay enough attention to her, and when I'm with her I can't tell her everything.' I was so sure you would never come back into my life after College." He gave her his widest smile. "But here we are." As they talked, clouds started moving in, thunder rumbling in the distance.

"Yeah, here we are." She said, smiling back, then blinked a few times. "Do you feel raindrops?" Yamamoto opened his mouth to answer, but then his phone rang. He let her go, and dug his phone out, answering it.

"This is Yamamoto. Tsuna! Ah…what? When? Really? We'll head back now. It's ok. This is important." He paused, listening, brow raised. "Got it." With that, he hung up and looked at Philomena. "Sorry to cut our date short. Tsuna needs us both back." He took her hand and they started walking. "It seems that the American family we're having problems with wants a sit down with the Decimo. They're there now. So we need to get back, and get changed, then go to Tsuna's office." She blinked a few times, a shiver running down her spine. This didn't sound very good.

When they got back to the Vongola Mansion. They found suits in Yamamoto's room. Her's looked similar to his, but had a skirt and was a bit more feminine. By hers, there were knives in holsters of sorts that looked like two belts. She gave Yamamoto a questioning look.

"When we go to battle to protect, we wear a Vongola uniform, which is this black suit. Tsuna or Reborn are expecting trouble if they are equipping you." She buckled both belts as she listened, nodding. He slipped his suit jacket on, looking at her. "These sorts of meetings…they can be dangerous. Are you sure you want to do this?" She nodded, putting on her own jacket.

"Yes, I agreed to be his assistant and his translator." She said frowned a bit and walked over, taking her hand.

"I'll be right there. So, don't panic." He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "You are so brave. And you look really good in that!" He laughed, leading her out of the room, still holding her hand.

They got settled in their places in the office. Yamamoto and Gokudera were the only guardians in the room, on their respective sides of Tsuna and Philomena was on the other side of Yamamoto. They had the guards at the door allow the Americans in. Philomena wrinkled her nose, watching them come in. They just looked sleazy.

"About damn time!" one of the men, she was guessing the boss, exclaimed as he plopped down into a chair in front of the desk. He looked at Tsuna, smirked kicking his feet onto the desk. "A Chinese kid like you is the boss of the Vongola?" He laughed, his two men following suit. Tsuna gave him the blankest look Philomena thought he could muster, he glanced at her and she nodded. Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Vongola Decimo is of Japanese decent, and is also a direct heir of Vongola Primo. Now, he would like to get on with your business, he has a very tight schedule." She said, frowning.

"He can't even speak English?" The guy, his name was Tony Conti or something like that, spat out."Is this for real?" Tsuna spoke in Japanese, folding his hands on his desk, his eyes flashing orange as he leaned forward.

"Very real." She translated. "If there's any problems we will be done here."

"Fine." He frowned, leaning back in his chair. "You guys may be a big deal in Italy, but you're treading on my territory. I don't like it." Tsuna smirked, and said his piece, then leaned back in his own chair.

"Sure, your territory, but we're cleaning up the mafia. It's more than extortion and hits. It's about family and protection. That's how it began, that's how it will come to be." She felt nervous, but hoped it didn't show on her face. The man scoffed.

"Those are childish dreams. The mafia is a criminal organization. And we will continue as we always have. And you can't stop us." The man began to rise from his chair, but paused when Tsuna slammed his hands down, standing himself and yelling in Japanese. Philomena jumped from the sudden actions, then began translating.

"They are not childish dreams. It can be done and will be done! You extort from the poor all the money they have, you lead up drug rings, arms deals, prostitution rings and it will not stand!" The man smirked and gave Tsuna a nod.

"Just try and stop me." He glanced around then grinned a lecherous grin. "Now maybe we can come to some sort of understanding. Your Brit translator is pretty cute. I bet I could make plenty of money with her." Her eyes widened as he finished, while looking her up and down. She didn't translate for Tsuna right away. Him, nor Yamamoto needed to hear that.

"What did he say?" Tsuna asked her in Japanese. She simply shook her head. "Philly…" He had that serious sound to his voice. "What. Did. He. Say." She cleared her throat, and translated. Tsuna's eyes widened, then narrowed as he looked back to the man, and gave his reply. Philomena cleared her throat, glancing at Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were both glaring at the man, then went ahead with her job.

"You have a wonderful afternoon sir. My Guardians here will escort you out. Unfortunately this lady is off the table. She is currently taken as well as a precious member of my Famiglia. I truly hope you get back safely." As she was translating, Gokudera and Yamamoto flanked the three men, and with weapons drawn were escorting them roughly out of the office. Tsuna looked over at Philly and gave her a sad look.

"I am so sorry you had to deal with that, and that we had to call you on your day off." He gave her a smile. "You feeling more rested?"

"I am, thank you Tsuna." She said, smoothing her suit. "Ah, do you need me for anything else?"

"I would rather you not leave until they get back. I don't know if you want to accidently stumble on them beating the mess out of those guys." She gave him a confused look and he continued. "I told you, we all care about you and we don't let anyone talk about our friends in such ways. Besides, if you haven't noticed, Yamamoto is very protective where you're concerned. I feel very sorry for those guys, but they deserve it after all, they are despicable men who wanted to…well…you heard them." She nodded, feeling slightly ill at the thought.

When Yamamoto and Gokudera returned, Tsuna had told Yamamoto to go ahead and go and bring Philomena back to 'their' room. She started a bit at that, but Yamamoto moved an arm around her waist, leading her out of the room. Currently, she was back in one of his t-shirts and in bed. He had decided to hop in the shower. She yawned softly and snuggled into the blankets, eyes half closed. She couldn't believe she was still tired after all that sleep she got. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard the door open, footsteps then a side of the mattress sink under weight.

"About time" She mumbled. "I almost fell asleep waiting on you. She opened her eyes, looking at the love of her life. He frowned as he sat there, a towel covering his wet hair.

"I…after that earlier, are you sure you want this life? Are you sure you want me?" He asked, a deadly serious tone in his voice.

"Of course." She replied, half way sitting up. She reached out, laying a hand on his back. "Before I told you I did, I knew what I was getting into. I…I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be happy without you in my life." She bit her lip gently. She wanted to say so much more. She wanted to tell him that she was sure he washer soul mate, that she knew that he was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, that she wanted him to be the father of her children. She blushed at that thought, just thinking of him playing with children. She shook her head, clearing it and looked back at him. His eyes had softened, and he gave her a slight grin. She finished lamely with one last line. "I love you"

"Awww, I love you too Philly." He whispered, moving and wrapping his arms around her, falling over so they were both laying down. "Sorry, sometimes I wish I could have kept you out of this life." She gave him a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I could have simply turned down the job, or just did what Iw as hired to do and leave. I didn't have to accept Tsuna's offer, or even accept Reborn's. This is all my doing." She turned in his arms and kissed what she could reach, which was his chest, her nose pressing up against it. His hand moved to her head, stoking her hair, and she could feel her eyes close.

"Fair enough." He said, kissing the top of her head. "Get some sleep. We can talk more about it tomorrow." She nodded, and yawned, snuggling up to him as best as she could.

A/N: I literally just finished this chapter o.O ;; Sorry about the wait! I have a good idea of how I want this to end, and I think we're pretty close :) Thanks to all of the readers who are following this and who have favorited this fic! I really appreciate you guys! You make me want to write even more! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! 3


	11. Chapter 11

About a week later, Philomena was in her hand to hand class when someone came in with a note for her. Ryohei allowed her to take a break so she could read it. She sat down, a towel around her neck, and a bottle of water next to her feet, and opened the note. It read as follows:

"Dear Philly,

When your hand to hand lesson is over, can you meet e in the garden? I have something to talk to you about.

Takeshi"

Her eyes widened as she reread it three more times, her hands shaking. This didn't sound good. He never called her out somewhere to talk to her about anything. She took a deep breath, folding it back and putting it with the rest of her things. She looked back to her instructor and nodded.

"Let's finish up." She said quietly, falling into a stance. The entire time she sparred with Ryohei, her mind was on that note. She was thinking back, wondering what could have happened. She knew she was diving into her training and her new job as Tsuna's assistant, but it wasn't that bad. He had been on a mission one of the two past weeks.

Philomena was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a shout from Ryohei. She looked at him, blinking a few times. HE was holding his nose, eyes streaming with tears.

"Philly! That was extreme! You got through my defenses! I…" He winced, sitting down. She raced over, moving his hand.

"Let me look" She whispered, then her eyes widened. She had broken his nose. "I am so sorry Ryohei!" She sighed, grabbing her towel, holding it to his nose. "I was distracted…"

"Well, be distracted more often then!" He said with a smile. "You could have kicked my ass!" She couldn't help but giggle.

"Let's get you a doctor." She got together their things, and stood, holding out her hand for him, helping him up. They walked in silence most of the way, then a nasally sounding Ryohei finally spoke up.

"What distracted you that much?" He asked, voiuce muffled from the towel. She held up the note.

"Takeshi wants me to meet him. He…has something to talk to me about something." She bit her lip, her worry coming back again.

"So, being distracted like that, you didn't pull your punches?" He asked, taking the towel from his face.

"Ah…" She avoided looking him in the eye, biting her lip.

"When I'm teaching you, or we're sparring, don't pull punches. I can't tell how you've progressed." He crossed his arms as they stopped in front of the appropriate door. "No more." When she nodded, he went into the office. She sighed softly and turned, heading for her destination, a lot on her mind now.

Philomena opened the french doors leading to the garden and blinked a few times. It was raining. She let out a breath, listening to the rain drops rhythmically hitting the leaves of a near by tree, allowing it to calm her. She dropped her bag inside, right next to the door, and headed out.

"Takeshi?" She called out, looking around. "Are you still out here?" As she neared a yellow rose bush, he came into view, leaning on a nearby oak tree. They made eye contact and she bit her lip, pushing a wet lock of hair from her eyes. He pushed himself off of the tree trunk, and walked over to her, taking her hands.

"Do you remember when I first confessed to you?" He asked in a soft voice, sliding an arm around her waist leading them in a dance. She nodded, chewing on her lip. Please don't let him tell me it was a mistake. Please don't take him away from me. Those were the only thoughts buzzing around her head. He smiled when she nodded, spinning them slowly in something akin to a waltz. "I remember it so clearly. You thought I was nuts." He laughed, looking down into her eyes. "It was possibly the best day of my life. Hopefully until now."

"Why now?" She asked hesitantly. She swallowed the lump in her throat as he stopped dancing them around, leaning his forehead to hers, eyes closed. She felt her face burn with a blush and after that, everything happened in an instant. Suddenly, his hand left hers, then reappeared with a velvet box.

"Why now?" He asked. When she nodded, he opened the box. A beautiful and modest diamond solitaire sat in it. "Because I hope you tell me you'll marry me Philly." Her free hand went to her mouth as she felt tears threaten. He let her go, dropping to one knee, and holding up the box. "You're the only one I have wanted, or will ever want. You are my everything, and I told you the next time we met would be forever. So, will you do me the honor of being Mrs. Philomena Yamamoto?" She felt those tears finally fall down her cheeks as she launched herself at him, arms around his neck.

"Of course I will!" She squealed, kissing his cheek. He laughed, wrapping his arms around her. She kissed his cheek again. "I love you Takeshi" She said quietly. He sat down on the wet ground, gathering her into his lap, and slipped the ring on her finger.

"I love you too." He said, kissing her hand. "This ring means a lot." He didn't look up at her, staring at the ring on her finger. "I know it's smaller than you deserve, but it was my mother's."

"What do you mean?" She asked, laughing. "It's perfect, absolutely perfect."

"You're absolutely perfect." He murmured, his lips claiming hers in a passionate kiss.

A few weeks later, while Philomena had some rare time off, she was sitting on her bed, on the phone with her mom, going over wedding plans. Her parents had moved back to England fairly recently and her mother was trying to get her to have the wedding there. All her family was there and things of that nature.

"But mom, I don't know. I'd have to fly there as would Takeshi, then what of his father? Tsuna's family would be there, also Kyoko and Haru." She listened for a minute and laughed. "When was the last time Spanner was back home? He's been in Italy since high school. " She sighed softly. "I kind of want this to be small, yes I do understand I'm your only….mom…really? No." She looked up as the door opened, and gave Yamamoto a smile as he walked in, hiding something behind his back.

"Your mom?" He asked, sitting beside her. When she nodded he smiled brightly and still hiding one hand behind his back, he took the phone from her. "Mrs. Johns! Hi! Yeah well…ahahaha… Yeah well, I'm sorry, Philly has to go. Something just came up." He hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed.

"Takeshi! You just hung up on my mother!" She said laughing. "What's so important that…?" Her eyes went wide as he held up two tickets.

"We are getting married in Japan. Our wedding gift from Tsuna and he is flying everyone out." He grinned and leaned over kissing her. She returned the kiss for a moment, then broke it.

"That's great! Why Japan though? I figured it'd be here. Easier to plan and fewer people having to fly out." SHe blinked a few times as he grinned.

"Well, that's where we first met, first confessed, first kissed…" She gave him a warm smile.

"You are such a sappy romantic." She said with a laugh. "But I think it's wonderful."

"And I already called Pop. He said don't worry too much about the food and reception. That'll be at the restaurant…" He blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "He said 'Why not have it where you had your first date.' We weren't even dating then."

"Everyone else thought it was a date." Philomena said quietly.

"Yeah, I know." He laughed, then kissed her forehead. "Call him and talk to him about what kind of food you want. He knows not everyone likes sushi." She nodded, and laid down on the bed, reaching for her phone.

"I'll do that right away. It's been a long time since I talked to Dad." She said, looking through her phone for the retaurant number.

"Eh? You just call him…" She simply nodded.

"Yeah ever since I left for College." She replied to the unfinished question as she looked for the number. "Said we might as well be married and that I was family. Had me call him as soon as I got there." She found it and pulled it up, looking at Yamamoto out of the corner of her eye. "Is…that ok?"

"Yeah," He gave her that megawatt smile of his. "I think it's great that he loves you." He leaned over kissing her nose, then stood, leaving the tickets on her bed. "I gotta go and finish up some stuff. Tell him I said hi." Philomena blinked a few times and his the call button on her phone, lifting it to her ear.

"Weird." She muttered, waiting for the elder Yamamoto to pick up the phone.

Philomena sat in Takesushi, looking over the wedding guest list with Kyoko and Haru. The day was fast approaching, and her idea of a small wedding was definitely smaller than this list. She had it broken down with listing the guests by hers, his and both. Hers had family pretty much, and then Spanner and Shoichi since Yamamoto didn't really talk to them very much. Tsuna and the rest of the guardians were under both, then the list for Yamamoto was insane. She sighed softly, and looked over at the sushi bar.

"Hey Dad?" SHe asked, sipping her tea. When he looked up with a questioning look, she looked back to the list. "Does that son of yours really friend nearly everyone he comes across?"

"Pretty much." He said, looking back to the fish he was slicing. The restaurant had just opened so not many were in there yet. "Even enemies. A few on there he nearly killed, or they nearly killed him." She sighed softly, tapping the pen against the table.

"Too many…." She breathed, pouting.

"Why don't you call him and ask if he can slim it down?" Kyoko offered as she set her tea down. "He wouldn't mind I don't think."

"He'd do anything you asked him, as long as you didn't ask him to abandon his friends." Haru added. "He's like stupid in love with you, always has been." Kyoko nodded her agreement, and Yamamoto senior even voiced his agreement.

"I don't want to make him pick and choose. He knows I wanted a small wedding, and he must have chosen all these people for a reason."

"Give him a call and see." Kyoko offered, shrugging. "What would it hurt?" Philomena bit her lip and looked at her phone. She tapped the pen a couple more times then picked up her phone. She hoped he'd answer. The past couple of times she had, he didn't, then texted later telling her he had been busy. She pulled up his number and called him. It rang a few times, then she heard his voice.

"Philly! Hey what's up? Everything ok?"

"Yeah ah, do you have time? I'm not interrupting am I?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Not really." He said, a frown in his voice. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, just stressed trying to plan this wedding. Wish you were here with me."

"I'll be there next week." He said yawning. "I'm sorry I can't be more help."

""Actually you can. I mean, I wanted a small wedding and Takeshi….your guest list…anyway you can slim it down a tiny bit?" She got discouraged when she heard him sigh softly, a rustling on the other end of the phone.

"Send it to me and let me look at it. I just don't want to offend anyone I shouldn't." He finally said. She smiled a bit.

"That's all I can ask." She said quietly. "I'll take a picture of it and text it to you." She sighed herself. "I gotta go. Just…can I get that as soon as possible? I want to send invitations out I already feel like they're last minute."

"Yeah sure. As soon as I can." He said, then out of the blue. "And I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm sorry it's not sooner. You doing all of this yourself isn't fair. I love you and call me later ok?"

"You got it. I love you too." She hung up, then took the picture, and sent it to him. She shrugged as she looked at her two friends. "He said he'll look at it, but offending people and all that."

"Well, I guess I can see that." Kyoko said, sipping her tea. Haru simply nodded her agreement. Philomena set the guest list to the side, waiting for Yamamoto to get back to her, and looked at her schedule for the day.

"Looks like it's wedding dress time. We've been putting this off for too long. Sad thing is we figured out the cake first." She gathered her things, and looked at the sushi bar. "Dad, I gotta go for a bit. I won't be late." When he nodded and waved, she turned, dragging her friends behind her. Time to get most everything else out of the way that she could.

A/N: OK Almost done! Like I finished it and plan on posting this chapter and the last one today! Yaaayyy! Kinda sad to see it end though, I really liked writing this one! Yamamoto is sooo adorable to write! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! 3


	12. Chapter 12

The wedding had gone beautifully, although Yamamoto hadn't been able to shave the number of guests at all. Philomena was beautiful in her dress, which was form fitting and mostly lace. The train was long, lacy and beaded. Her veil was the same. As she had walked up, Yamamoto blushed, which made her blush. That was two years ago.

Philomena sighed, looking at their wedding picture on her desk. Tsuna was having a slow day, so she didn't have much to do. He had insisted she have a desk put into his office with a nice, comfortable chair. They were all coddling her again, for good reason she supposed. Yamamoto had threatened to send her to Japan to stay with his father for a couple of months. They had a problem with a rival Famiglia for a while. It was finally resolved a week or so ago.

Now, it was her and Yamamoto's anniversary. She was finishing up some work. Tsuna insisting she take half days lately made her work back up. He was visiting the Simon Famiglia today, so she slipped in to get it done. She was nearly done when a knock came to teh door.

"Come in" She called, finishing up one form.

"I thought I'd find you here." Tsuna said, arms crossed. He didn't sound pleased.

"I don't want to leave a bunch of work for whoever takes over." She insisted. "You're coddling me too much." She complained, turning the chair to face him and blinked a few times seeing Yamamoto behind him frowning. "It's not like I'm on my feet all day."

"But you need to rest doctor's orders." Tsuna argued. "You're too…"

"I am resting! I'm sitting. I'd stress out knowing someone had to pick up my slack." She braced herself on the sides of the chair and tried to get up. Her huge stomach didn't think that was a good idea. She scowled as Yamamoto came over, helping her up.

"You can barely get out of that chair." He murmured, concerned.

"I can barely do a lot of things. That's what happens when you knock me up with twins Takeshi." She complained.

"And that's why you were put on bed rest."Tsuna chimed in.

"I'll be…" Her eyes widened for a second as she let out a breath. "I'll be fine." She finished quietly. Maybe she should go lay down.

"That just means little Sora and Squall are healthy!" Yamamoto said cheerfully as he led her out of the office.

"Can I at least do my work in bed?" She asked Tsuna over her shoulder before stopping and grabbing a hold of her pregnant belly. "Uh oh…" She muttered.

"What? Are you ok?" Yamamoto asked, hovering around his wife. She waved him away.

"I probably did too much. Just a bit of pain." She continued to walk towards the door. "I'm sorry to have worried you Tsuna." She bit her lip gently as she walked, muffling a yelp as she felt pain again.

"You should go see the doctor." Tsuna said quietly. When she shook her head, he looked over at his rain guardian. "Take her. This doesn't seem normal." Yamamoto nodded, and steered her in the correct direction.

Later that night, Philomena was exhausted, and laid down in a hospital bed, holding one of her twins. She gave the small boy a smile, then looked over at Yamamoto, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with the other one, who had just stopped crying.

"So, ah…happy anniversary?" She said with a tired laugh.

"Best one ever." He said, bouncing the baby who was starting to fuss again. "Ok this one has a temper. This is definitely Squall." He laughed. Philomena looked down at the quiet one in her arms, nodding.

"What do you think Sora? Your brother too loud?" She kissed the baby's head, then looked back at her husband. Even after two years, she was not tired of calling him that. "When do you have to go back?" She asked, yawning.

"Once we get you three settled. But I won't be going out on missions until you can get back to work."She nodded, yawning again. She watched Yamamoto lay Squall down in his crib, and took Sora from her arms. "Now get some sleep. Looks like these two are ready for sleep too."

"Are you going to go and get some rest too?" She asked him, getting as comfortable as she could

"I'll sleep in here with you three." He said, taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"You are the best, I love you Takeshi." She said as she fell asleep. He reached over, pulling the blankets up for her and gave her a smile.

"You're still the best. I love you so much." He whispered, kissing her forehead.

A/N: I know, I know! It's a short chapter! More like an epilogue than anything else. I'm sad to see this one end, but it's for the best. :( Also! The baby names! Just in case you didn't pick up on it, the twins are named for Takeshi's two best friends :) Sora meaning sky, and Squall being a windy violent storm. :) I really hope you guys enjoyed this ride with me! Already have a new plot bunny bothering me, so I'll start to work on that as soon as I can! Thanks guys for all of your support while I wrote this! Even just seeing people following and Favoriting this work makes me super happy!


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